São Paulo – Cony, a manufacturer of bathroom accessories based in the municipality of Mogi Guaçu, in the state of São Paulo, has changed the composition of its products, and hopes to begin exporting to Arab countries as a result. According to the company’s export manager, Eloy Arraes, last year, Cony started selling accessories made from aluminium instead of brass, which made the products lighter and also cheaper. As a consequence, and in order to see what the Arab market is like for his products, Arraes attended a seminar on civil construction in the region, held at the head office of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, in São Paulo, on this Wednesday (23rd).
The seminar brought together 20 businessmen and presented construction industry opportunities for Brazilian companies in the Gulf and in North Africa, as well as information on the Big 5, the leading Arab trade show for the industry. Cony participated in the 2007 edition of the fair, during which he made approximately 15 contacts with possible buyers. The company, however, does not export to the Arab world yet. Cony has been on the market for 15 years and started investing in exports approximately five years ago. According to Arraes, the company sells to international hotel chains.
Also represented at the seminar was ceramics company Gail, which owns a plant in Guarulhos, in the state of São Paulo. The company makes anti acid tiles for industries and pools and has been exporting to the Arab market since 2008. The sales began as a result of a stint at the Big 5 in that same year, during which the company got an agent for the Middle East. Ever since, products have been shipped to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates, in the Arab world, according to the export assistant Suelen Milare, who attended the seminar. She came to check out the new opportunities in the region.
According to data presented during the seminar by Rodrigo Solano, the Arab Brazilian Chamber’s Market Development manager, the Arab market imports US$ 60.5 billion in building materials each year, and Brazil accounts for a very small share of those sales thus far. The Emirates, where the Big 5 is held, answers to 34% of those imports, according to Solano. The most purchased products include iron and steel bars, wires, and cables. The region’s construction pipeline totals US$ 470 billion and one of the drivers of investment is the tourism industry. “Dubai alone receives more tourists than Brazil,” said Solano.
According to the Arab Brazilian Chamber’s secretary general, Michel Alaby, who also attended the seminar, Dubai has an expanded market of 1.3 billion people. Alaby underscored that bargaining is part of the Eastern culture, and this must be taken into consideration when negotiating with Arabs and giving discounts. “Selling to the Arabs is an exercise in patience,” claims Alaby. Some of the businessmen attending the seminar even told their own stories of contracts closed after long negotiations, some of which took years to conclude. He also said that direct contact is the best way of selling in the region.
The secretary general of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Elias Hadi, said that this year, the Arab Brazilian Chamber and the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex) are organizing a 280-square-metre booth at the Big 5. The premises will host 28 companies and enrolment will remain open up until late August. According to the Chamber’s Marketing analyst, Karina Cassapula, the 2009 was attended by 27 Brazilian companies. A total of 3,300 contacts were made and deals totalling US$ 12 million are expected to be closed over the next six months.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
