São Paulo – For the first time ever, Mauritania, the Arab country in Africa’s east coast, welcomed a mission of Brazilian executives led by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. The last stop along the Mission to North Africa unearthed good business opportunities for these Brazilian exporters, especially those who deal in cosmetics.
According to Fernanda Baltazar, an international business executive with the Arab Chamber, there’s a demand for Brazilian goods in both Mauritania and the countries it shares borders with. “Many local businesspersons who spoke with the Brazilian delegates are interested in importing goods to supply Mauritania and nearby countries,” she said, adding that the strongest demand among them is in Senegal.
On Monday (23), the Brazilian executives had a meeting at the local Chamber of Commerce in Nouakchott. Fernanda said each of the delegates – who represent three Brazilian meat, coffee and cosmetics companies – made a presentation about their business. After that, they sat down to talk with local entrepreneurs.
Next up, they made technical visits to points of sale and supermarkets, in a bid to learn more about the Mauritanian market. Finally, the Embassy of Brazil in Nouakchott, which was one of the trip’s supporters, held a B2B event at its facilities with local businesspersons.
Tuesday (24) will be the final day of the Mission to North Africa. The delegates will visit other supermarkets and points of sale and meet with prospective importers.
The Mission
The Arab Chamber’s executive of international business assessed as positive the two-week trip. The mission visited Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Mauritania. She said the trip was important to identify opportunities in these markets, especially in Jordan and Mauritania, still underexplored by Brazilians.
She also highlighted the visit to Egypt: “Besides prospecting potential deals, in Egypt the business owners were able to go a little further and discuss the regulatory issues,” explained Fernanda.
Since the Mercosur-Egypt free trade agreement went into effect recently, the Egyptian companies are very interested in increasing purchases from Brazil. Another factor that’s boosting business in the Arab country is the local economic scenario, going through an upswing.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum and Sérgio Kakitani
