São Paulo – Brazilian food and beverage companies participated last week in the Gulfood Green fair in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where they attended a seminar on the characteristics of the local market, negotiated with potential buyers in B2B meetings, and met with local entrepreneurs.
The trip was held by the Agro.BR project, a partnership between the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA) and the Brazilian Agency for Promotion of Exports and Investments (ApexBrasil) to promote Brazilian-made food abroad. The Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) supported the organization of the business mission through its office in Dubai.
The following companies participated in the trip: 100% Amazônia, which offers products from the Amazon; Petruz Assaí; Flor da Aurora (which produces honey); Engenho Café de Açaí; FZP Trading; True Forest (organic products); and Co.Cook (spices). These companies attended the fair and held B2B meetings over three days of the event within the ApexBrasil booth.
Rodrigo da Matta, the international trade promotion coordinator at CNA, mentioned that Brazilian products appealing to the Gulf region include honey, specialty coffees, and fruit cultivation. “The Gulf is a region that highly values Brazilian products. The Brazilian community is well represented and creates a closer cultural connection for Brazilian products to enter these markets, and that’s what we want to explore in these missions and activities,” da Matta told ANBA.
Gulfood Green is a fair that explores sustainability in food production and food items with a healthy appeal. Among the sectors it encompasses–and the exhibitors it hosts–are agricultural technology, fresh foods, plant-based products, and functional foods, among others.
The seminar held on Monday (23) covered various topics related to food exports to the UAE, such as legislation, certifications, and taxation. It included a presentation from a company already exporting to the country, as well as a lecture on the role of Brazil’s agribusiness in the UAE. The Brazilian Embassy in UAE was represented at the meeting. Brazil is a major producer of meats and a top exporter of these products to the Gulf region. During their time in Dubai, businesspeople also visited the local supermarket chain Grandiose, which operates in the high-value product segment.
However, da Matta said that organizing the export logistics chain remains the main challenge for selling to the UAE. Finding solutions to this obstacle, as well as supporting exporters, especially small and medium-sized ones, is one of the primary goals of Agro.BR, he said. He also pointed out that CNA has regional offices in Dubai, Shanghai, China, and Singapore.
Gulf market potential for Brazilian products
From Dubai, da Matta proceeded to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, where he is holding meetings this week. One of the visits took place on Monday (30) at the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co. (Salic), the Saudi sovereign fund for agribusiness, which already has investments in Brazil. The visit to Saudi Arabia includes meetings with PIF sovereign wealth fund, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), and food companies.
“The CNA office in Dubai is starting to participate more in activities here in Saudi Arabia. We also intend to facilitate participation in the Saudi Food Show, which will take place next year [in May 2025], and increasingly bring Brazilian producers closer to this market that is quite large, very promising, but also quite challenging,” said the CNA executive about the Gulf country.
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
