São Paulo – The International Business Roundtables at the 43rd Convention of the Brazilian Supermarket Association (Abras), starting today (23), in São Paulo, should bring 25 buyers of foods, beverages and equipment to meetings with over 50 Brazilian suppliers. Among the importers will be a representative of the Egyptian Traders Company (ETC). The expectation is for the meetings to generate a turnover of US$ 60 million for Brazilian companies.
The Egyptian trading company, established in 1992, in Cairo, has annual revenues of US$ 100 million. The organisation should have 16 meetings, between today and tomorrow, with producers of pasta, cake, biscuits, coffee, rice, grain, maize, condiments, chocolate drinks and jelly, among other items. The roundtables have the support of the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) and the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
From January to August, Brazilian exports to Egypt totalled US$ 959.89 million, which represented growth of 10.4% over the same period last year. Meats, sugar and soy are among the main foods shipped to the Arab country.
Apart from Egypt, the roundtables should also include organisations from Angola, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Mozambique, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela. Some 800 meetings between importers and suppliers are forecasted, about 300 more than in the roundtables last year.
The 43rd Abras Convention, which was opened last night, should be marked by a series of talks with specialists in the sector who are going to cover themes like strategies to survive the crisis, retail, globalisation in the sector, behaviour of new consumers and sustainability. On Thursday, there should be a sectorial panel with the presidents of Itaú-Unibanco bank, Roberto Setúbal, Ambev, João Castro Neves, GS1, Sergio Ribinik, and Nestlé, Ivan Zurita.
According to information disclosed by the Abras, following the example of the sector performance this year, which continued expanding despite the economic turmoil, the 43rd Abras Convention has also grown. The event should bring together over 700 executives, growth of 40% over the 500 of 2008, among which are the presidents and directors of the main supermarket chains, the main suppliers in the country and state supermarket associations.
Service
International Business Roundtables
Date: September 23rd and 24th
Time: from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Site: WTC / Sheraton
Address: Av. das Nações Unidas, 12,559 – Brooklin Novo – São Paulo – SP
*Translated by Mark Ament
