São Paulo – The Middle East Stone Fair came to an end this Thursday (25) in Dubai, the UAE, and Brazilian exhibiting companies struck deals. “This is a fair that yields actual results, several companies related that they closed deals during the fair,” said the vice president of Financial Administration at the Brazilian Natural Stones Industry Association (Abirochas), Marcos Regis Andrade.
The Brazilian pavilion was organized by Abirochas in partnership with the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and it featured 15 natural stone producing companies. Andrade remarks that trade shows are usually about promotion and talks, whereas actual deals usually happen afterwards.
“But here things turned out differently. Several companies told us that they had deals go through during the fair, and this proves the strength of the Arab market as a natural stones consumer market,” said the vice president, speaking from Dubai. According to him, the stones offered by the Brazilian companies attracted attention and drew visitors into the stands at the Middle East Stone Fair. “There was a lot of positive interaction between Arab and Brazilian market players,” he says.
Andrade highlights the characteristics of the Arab market, which according to him is different and attractive, and alluring for its scale and high value-added product specifications. “That encourages Brazilian companies to improve more and more so they can supply large amounts of product to major projects,” he explained.
This was the first time that Brazilian companies exhibited as a group at the trade show, which is relatively young – this was its third edition. Arab Brazilian Chamber business executive Rafael Solimeo, who represented the organization at the fair, pointed out that although this was the Brazilian industry’s first inroad as a group, 15 companies joined. According to him, the exhibitors became acquainted with the market, found out who the competition is, and what types of stone the region needs. “The Arab market favors unique, exotic stones, and Brazilian companies have them,” says Solimeo.
According to the Arab Chamber executive, exhibitors said they plan to be back the next time around, and he hopes Brazilian participation will be even bigger next year. “The fair was a big hit,” he said over the phone from Dubai as the event ended.
Participation in the Middle East Stone Fair also cemented the ties between the Arab Chamber and Abirochas, according to Solimeo and Andrade. The latter claimed that this type of partnership is important for bringing revenue to Brazil. “We hope that this successful partnership with the Arab Chamber will lead to numerous other similar fairs and actions,” Andrade told ANBA.
The head of Commercial Promotion at the Embassy of Brazil in the UAE, Kaiser Araujo, lauded the Brazilian participation in the Middle East Stone Fair. “This initiative enabled Brazilian exporters to join one of the industry’s premier fairs,” he said. According to him, the pavilion was flawlessly organized, and this allowed exhibitors to get in touch with lots of high-level prospective clients.
The fair lasted four days and the Brazilian pavilion spanned 250 sqm. Arab Brazilian Chamber CEO Michel Alaby visited the fairgrounds on the opening day.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum