Marina Sarruf*
São Paulo – Trading company Albaz National Establishment, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, wants to import 6,000 tonnes of soy chaff from Brazil. Today (26), two representatives from the Saudi company who are in São Paulo, the largest business centre in Brazil, are going to make an offer to the Brazilian subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), one of the largest processors of soy, maize, wheat and cocoa in the world. If the deal is closed, the multinational company should ship its first load to the Arab country in October.
The contact between the Saudi trading company and ADM Brazil was through consultancy company RM Brazil, which analysed the main Brazilian companies capable of exporting to Saudi Arabia. "One of the demands of the trading company is that the soy chaff be shipped in bags," stated the RM export agent, Rafael Cambraia.
Soy is one of the main Brazilian products exported to Saudi Arabia. From January to August this year, Brazil exported the equivalent to US$ 55.9 million in products in the soy complex to the Saudi market. Soy products are the fourth item in the trade basket, losing only to chicken, iron ore and sugar.
This is the first time that Albaz National Establishment is going to import from Brazil. The trading company, which works with agricultural products and implements, already imports from China, Germany, Italy and India. According to the marketing manager at the trading company, Abubakar A. Mohammed, the company sells to countries in the Middle East, Arabian Gulf and East Africa, like Somalia and Kenya.
"After we learn more about the Brazilian product, we may increase our imports from the country. We are interested in buying sugar, chicken and live cattle," stated Mohammed. He and the deputy general manager at the trading company, Salah Shehtah Al-Zabalawy, visited the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce last week so as to make commercial enquiries. "We came to the Arab Brazilian Chamber after assistance so we may find companies interested in exporting agricultural products to Saudi Arabia," he added.
According to the foreign relations manager at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Fadley Fattah, the Saudis also showed interest in purchasing a company that makes A4 paper in Brazil. The Saudis, who arrived in São Paulo last Tuesday (20), should return to Saudi Arabia at the end of September.
Profile
Albaz National Establishment was opened in 1975. The trading company imports between 60,000 and 100,000 tonnes of soy chaff a year. According to Mohammed, company profits range from US$ 8 million to US$ 10 million a year. The company has around 4,000 employees and has offices in Egypt, India, China and Italy, as well as in Saudi Arabia.
*Translated by Mark Ament
