São Paulo – The Brazilian Coffee Week will run from this Saturday (21) to November 26 at the Dubai Coffee Museum, in the UAE, featuring brands imported from Brazil by various local brands. The event is hosted by the Embassy of Brazil in Abu Dhabi, in partnership with the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).
A coffee station has been set up, and each day it will feature a different UAE-based company that imports and distributes Brazilian coffee. Easternmen & Co. was featured on the first day. The event’s opening was attended by the ambassador of Brazil to Abu Dhabi, Fernando Igreja; the ambassador of the UAE to Brazil, Saleh Al Suwaidi (attending online); the head of the ABCC’s international office in Dubai, Rafael Solimeo; the head of the Apex-Brasil office in Dubai, Karen Jones; and Dubai Coffee Museum owner Khalid Al Mulla.
The exhibition reflects mounting Brazilian-Arab coffee trade. It runs from 9 am to 5 pm. Featured companies will also include Coffee Planet, on Sunday (22), Nativo.ae, on the 23rd, Ducoffee, on the 24th, Ally Coffee, on the 25th, and Emirati Coffee, on the 26th.
Visitors will be able to sample the Brazilian coffees on offer from each of the brands, along with items from Brazilian cuisine, courtesy of AMF Comfort Food Trading, owned by the Brazilian chef Fernando Lima. The chef will cook typical Brazilian foods including pão de queijo, cake, and tapioca. The Museum will take in no more than 20 visitors at a time, in keeping with safety protocols regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
Fernando Igreja mentioned that even though coffee is originally from Africa, the Middle East was responsible for making it popular around the world. “Coffee needs to be an economic and cultural bridge connecting Brazil and the Arab countries. It was brought to Brazil during the 17th century, and it became the foundation of the national economy in the 19th century,” the diplomat said.
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Igreja also said Brazil is the leading coffee producing and exporting country in the world, with an output of 49.31 million 60-kg bags in 2019 alone. “Brazil and the UAE are strategic partners, and food security is one of the priorities when it comes to bilateral cooperation. This close cooperation is made evident by the fact that despite the coronavirus pandemic, food exports from Brazil to the UAE picked up by over 7% through October 2020. The ties between these two countries have been enhanced even further this year as a result of the strategic partnership established by Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro, during the latter’s visit to the UAE in October 2019,” said the ambassador, for whom coffee represents the tightly-knit friendship between the two countries.
A press release quoted ABCC president Rubens Hannun as congratulating ambassador Igreja on the initiative. “Thank you for always supporting the goals of the Arab Chamber. The coffee industry in the Arab region is growing, along with its numerous population composed primarily of young professionals who are consuming more coffee products. Brazilian companies can capitalize on these market opportunities by offering exclusive beverages, and the Brazilian Coffee Week is the ideal setting to show people what sets your blend apart, to create business opportunities and to enter into new partnerships. Museum goers will be able to sample the items on showcase and to judge the quality of Brazilian coffee for themselves,” he said.
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Karen Jones is optimistic despite the pandemic. The executive believes Brazil can match its 2019 export levels – it shipped USD 21 million worth of coffee products to the UAE. “With great interest, we are keeping track of growing coffee consumption by the population in the UAE, which became one of the target markets for Brazilian specialty coffees in the past few years. The Brazilian Coffee Week is a great initiative to showcase the excellent, unique flavor of Brazilian specialty coffees, and to support the companies that are promoting this product in the UAE,” said the head of the Apex-Brasil’s office in Dubai.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
