Dubai – Visiting the Brazilian stand at the Big 5 Show, a trade fair for the building industry held in Dubai, the general manager of Omani trading company Parcel Ceramics, Abdul Rauf Al Alawi, became interested in starting to import from Brazil. “I was impressed with the Brazilian stones,” said the businessman.
According to him, the trading company, which has been on the market for five years, operates solely with imports of ceramic facing from China. After visiting the Brazilian stand, however, Alawi envisioned a new business opportunity. The manager visited all of the marble and granite companies and was impressed by the quality of the stones. “They are quite beautiful. I really liked them,” he said.
Negotiations with the Brazilian companies depend on the price of the product and freight cost. “I see the distance as a problem,” said the manager. According to him, the crisis did not greatly affect the building sector in Oman. “The country is not connected to the global economy, as is Dubai, for example,” he said.
Another problem mentioned by Alawi is the lack of marketing of Brazilian products in Oman. According to him, it is necessary to disclose Brazil more in the Arab country. “The marble is good quality, but is not known in the market,” said the manager.
The Brazilian stones presented at the fair were also successful among companies from the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Algeria, Syria and Lebanon, among others, visited the Brazilian stone stand. Among the visitors were the president of Al Shaikh Real Estate, Abdulrahman Al Shaikh, who does not yet import from Brazil but is starting to prospect the market, the general manager of Global Building Technology, Mahmoud Abdalrahan, who has already imported Brazilian granite and plans to return to buying, and the general manager at Sital Marble, M. Hanna, who imports from Braminas.
Ceramics
Company Itagres, a producer of ceramic tiles, sold 25,000 metres of flooring at the fair today. The shipments should go to Iraq, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. In the case of Iraq, this should be the company’s first sale.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum and Mark Ament
