São Paulo – Harissa, dried tomatoes, olive paste and olive oil from Tunisia were some of the ingredients of the dishes tasted on Friday (28) by importers and food journalists in the Tunisia Experience event, organized by the Association of Middle Eastern and African Exporters (Maex), in partnership with the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in São Paulo.
The event counted on the presence of Marcelo Sallum, president at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Michel Alaby, CEO at the organization, Rubens Hannun, Foreign Trade vice president at the institution and honorary consul of Tunisia in São Paulo, and Sabri Bachtobji, the Tunisian ambassador in Brasilia.
The event is part of the agenda of the Maex representatives who have been in Sao Paulo since the beginning of the week to promote food from Tunisia and to meet with Brazilian importers. One of the main points of the programme of the executives was a visit to food fair Sial Brazil.
"The event was very interesting for us. We found different products that are already sold in the Brazilian market, and could understand the needs of Brazilian consumers, what they buy, what they are looking for, what they miss in the market and what we can bring from Tunisia, "said Ghrairi Houyem, Maex president .
"In Tunisia, we have olive oil flavours other than those that are already distributed here, by Spain or other countries. They (these others) are different from our Mediterranean flavour. We believe that Brazilian consumers will be happy with our olive oil, "explained Hoyem, showing that even these products, well known to the Brazilian table, may get a new taste.
"We also identified that there are different, crispier olive flavours than those distributed here, imported from Argentina and other countries," he said. According to her, Tunisian dates and tomatoes also have a distinctive flavour from those sold in Brazil.
This week, Maex executives also had meetings with importers, organized by the Arab Chamber, and made visits to supermarkets Carrefour and Pão de Açúcar. "For us, it was an opportunity to know what is in the market, the prices and also the origin of the products," said Hoyem. On Saturday (29), she will visit the fair BioFach Latin America, an organic products fair, also in São Paulo.
Satisfied with the contacts made in Brazil, the Maex president is making plans to return to the country and to bring Brazilians to Tunisia. "Next year, it is certain that we will exhibit at Sial. We will also prepare a delegation of Brazilian businessmen, with the Arab Chamber, to visit Tunisia and to explore what types of Brazilian products we import to the Tunisian market," she added.
*Translated by Mark Ament
