São Paulo – The Cairo-based stone company Eco Egypt is looking for new clients in Brazil. This week, Ali El-Gohary, the company’s export manager, is attending the Vitória Stone Fair, an ornamental stone fair held in the capital of the state of Espírito Santo.
“I am here to learn more about the market and to seek new clients,” said the executive. This is the Egyptian company’s first time exhibiting in Brazil, but it has had clients in Brazil since 2010. It does business with four buyers in Rio de Janeiro, as a result of contacts made at an industry fair in Verona, Italy.
“We sell marble and limestone to Brazil. Egyptian limestone is very similar to marble,” says El-Gohary. He says his stones boast unique colours. “We offer marble in a wide range of colours, especially Egyptian beige, which is very special,” he says.
Eco Egypt operates in extraction, sawing, polishing, and processing of marble, limestone and sandstone. The entire production is exported and 10% goes to Brazil. China, the company’s leading target, buys 50%. The enterprise also ships product to Saudi Arabia, Italy and the United Arab Emirates.
The stone fair features yet another Arab exhibitor, S&T Marble, an Omani-based interior decoration company active in the Middle East and specializing in high-end construction.
Brazilian
The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce also has a stand at the fair. According to commercial manager Andrés Benito, Brazilian companies are mostly receiving clients from the United States, Canada and Latin America. “There is also one importer from Saudi Arabia and one from Dubai,” he says regarding attendance by Middle East buyers at the event.
According to the executive, apart from promoting themselves at the fair, the Brazilian companies are taking potential buyers to see their extraction sites in the state. The Vitória Stone Fair will continue until next Friday (21st).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
