São Paulo – One of the main food and beverage sector fairs, Sial, to take place between October 19th and 23rd, in France, is an opportunity for Brazilian companies to close deals with Arab countries. This is the opinion of Juarez Leal, coordinator of the Image and Market Access unit at the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).
"France has very great influence on the Arabs and the fair usually has great visitation by buyers from Arab countries," said Leal. The Brazilian pavilion, to occupy a record area of 1,840 square metres, with over 100 companies offering visitors products ranging from drinks and coffee to snacks and meals for sampling.
According to Leal, from the Arab countries, the most expected ones are importers from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan and Kuwait. "Meats, both cattle and chicken, fruits and juices are the products most sought by them," he said. This is the fifth Brazilian participation in Sial and, according to Leal, Arab buyers always participate in the event.
The fair, which takes place every two years, brings together over 5,000 exhibitors from all continents and receives around 140,000 visitors. The Brazilian companies are going to launch a series of products like coffee, fruit, meats, biscuits, dairy products, wine, chocolate, and organic and exotic food, like Brazil nuts, camu-camu and assai.
The news of the Brazilian pavilion this year should be the Gourmet Space, to serve meals prepared by chef Laurent Suaudeau, who has been in Brazil since 1979, and the Bar Brasil, to count on the experience of barista and coffee expert Eliana Relvas.
Exports
Brazilian foreign sales of food and beverages have grown more than 150% over the last five years. Last year, exports totalled US$ 39.5 billion, an increase of 21% over 2006. The countries in Europe were the destination for 36% of Brazilian exports last year.
From the Arab countries, Saudi Arabia was the main buyer of food made in Brazil, with imports of US$ 951 million in 2007, growth of 16%, followed by the Emirates, with US$ 770 million, Egypt, with US$ 640 million, Algeria, with US$ 414 million and Morocco, with US$ 265.4 million. Of the products shipped to the Arab countries, 44% were meats, 37% sugar and 3% coffee.
*Translated by Mark Ament
