São Paulo – Four importers from Arab countries are going to participate in business roundtables with Brazilian companies at the Hospitalar, the medical sector service and equipment fair to take place from May 24th to 27th, at the Expo Center Norte, in the city of São Paulo. The business meetings will include 21 buyers from abroad, including countries like Algeria, the United Arab Emirates, Palestine and Tunisia.
According to the Marketing manager at the Brazilian Association of the Industry of Medical, Dental, Hospital and Laboratory Articles and Equipment (Abimo), Paula Portugal, ever since the roundtables started being promoted, ten years ago, there has always been at least one representative from the Arab world among the importers. The Abimo organizes the meetings as part of the sector’s buyer project, developed by the organisation and the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex).
Among the reasons for the invitation to Arab importers, according to Paula, are the growth of the countries of the region, the high demand for sector products, as well as investment in hospitals and the fact that there are not many producers in the area there. “Brazil has a good name in the area of medical and dentistry equipment,” said Paula, regarding the Arab market.
According to the Marketing manager, Brazilian industries offer good cost-benefit when compared with competitors from the United States and Europe, as they have products for accessible and quality products. Apart from that, Brazilian companies that have been in the region for a long time end up operating as anchors and favouring the sector image. Despite businessmen from the region regularly participating in the Hospitalar, the importers coming this year are first time visitors, according to Paula.
Apart from the Arabs, also coming to the roundtables are importers from Angola, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, El Salvador, Ecuador, the Philippines, Mexico, Portugal, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay. Two importers will be coming from Colombia, Ecuador and Portugal. Expectations of promoters are for the meetings to generate over US$ 16 million over the next twelve months. Last year the total was US$ 14.6 million.
Enrolment for Brazilian companies to meet the importers has already been closed. There will be about 50 companies, most medium, as that is the sector profile. The meetings, according to Paula, are also a great opportunity for small companies, as the activity takes place in Brazil, not resulting in much cost for them. The roundtables should take place from May 25th to 27th, from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm, at the Blue Mezzanine.
*Translated by Mark Ament
