São Paulo – Brazil is going to showcase the potential of its industry to the Libyan market starting today (2nd). The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce is going to display Brazilian products in the foodstuffs, footwear, textile, and medical-hospital sectors at the Tripoli International Fair, which starts this Thursday and continues until March 12th. The event, which is multisectoral, is currently in its 38th edition.
One of the enterprises present at the Arab Brazilian Chamber stand will be Latinex, a trading company in the foodstuff industry, which exports biscuits to the Arab country. Trader Eduardo Moraes hopes to find new clients and expand sales to the region. Another company will be Grendene, a footwear manufacturer that will have a local representative at the stand, mainly to promote the Grendha and Ipanema sandal brands.
At the Chamber’s stand, assistants André Caserta (Foreign Trade), and Filipe Ferraz (Marketing), are going to cater to Arab businessmen and help the Brazilian ones. Promotional material by Brazilian companies and associations is going to be distributed. According to Caserta, the most promising sectors for Brazil in the Libyan market are construction, machinery, foodstuffs, consumer goods, infrastructure and telecommunications.
Last year, Brazilian exports to Libya generated revenues of US$ 373 million, representing growth of 56% over 2007. Iron ore, beef, sugar, butene gas, maize, granite and coffee were the main products shipped in 2008. In turn, Brazilian imports from Libya totalled US$ 1.4 billion last year, as against US$ 997.6 million in 2007. Petroleum and naphtha for the petrochemical industry are the main items responsible for the deficit – for Brazil – in the balance of trade between the two countries.
The last edition of the Tripoli International Fair counted on the participation of more than 1,500 companies from 37 countries. Today and tomorrow, the fair is exclusively turned to businessmen, and starting on Saturday it opens to the public. On the sidelines of the event, the president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Salim Schahin, is going to have a series of meetings with local authorities and businessmen.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
