São Paulo – The El Sheikh Group produces frozen strawberries in Obour City Industrial Zone near Cairo, Egypt. It ships 6,000 tons per year to nearly the entire world, especially China, its biggest market. The strawberries that reach “almost” the whole planet are about to descend on a new destination in the next few months: Brazil. El Sheikh CEO Amr Ali is in the country this week to attend meetings and participate in the Anuga Select Brazil trade show, São Paulo, at a stand organized by the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
“We are looking to broaden our reach in terms of clients. We already sell in Russia and China. Brazil is the world’s seventh economy. That is why we want to sell here,” the executive said. He did not ascribe the sales potential in Brazil to the fact that Egypt has a free trade agreement with the Mercosur, the customs bloc that includes Brazil. However, he pointed out that his country is the world’s leading strawberry producer, and that any commercial and political agreement is beneficial when it leads to increased business.
The export process is a relatively recent one for the company. It started back in 2019 with sales to Russia. Foreign sales have since grown and reached Europe as well as China, which has become its primary export target. Currently, the company’s entire output gets shipped abroad.
Mr. Ali said that during this trip to Brazil, the company had meetings “that might prove productive” in months to come. He estimates that an average of two shipping containers a week should get shipped to Brazil, amounting to roughly 2,000 tons per year.
Brazil first became a potential target for the company, the executive said, as a result of the conflict in Russia. “Once the war [Russia on Ukraine] broke out, many clients were unable to make payments or receive shipments, so we started going to trade shows and looking for countries interested in our products. Many partners mentioned Brazil to me, and the Export Council of Egypt informed me about the possibility of shipping product to Brazil,” he said regarding how he concluded that Brazil might be a destination for his strawberries.
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Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
