São Paulo – Three days after the signing of the free trade agreement between the Mercosur and Egypt, companies from the two countries attended business roundtables at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce headquarters. The event, held this Thursday (5th), brought together 16 companies from the Arab country and 33 from Brazil.
They negotiated products such as foodstuffs, aluminium, fertilizers, medication, agricultural machinery, personal hygiene items, ethanol, cables and textiles.
Karim Otabachi, of Wakalex, a company that imports and imports foodstuffs, reports that her company already imports 200,000 tonnes of sugar and 10,000 tonnes of chicken from Brazil each year, and wants to increase its business with the country.
“We work with several companies here in Brazil and we are seeking new deals. The country is a huge market, all of the multinationals are moving into it, so entering the market is the right thing to do.” According to Otabachi, he is already seeking suppliers of beef and maize.
To the intelligence coordinator of food company Seara, of the Marfrig group, Michel Caldeira, the business roundtables enabled him to gain better knowledge of the Egyptian market. He also claims that he should close deals with the Arab importers.
“We are expecting an immediate sale. Next month, 10 to 15 containers should be shipped, and the volume should increase gradually over the next few months. I believe we can reach 1,000 to 2,000 tonnes, which is twice as much as we sell right now,” he said.
Daniel Paiva Faria, the Export analyst of Eurofarma, spoke with the representative of the Egyptian EVA Pharma, and believes that there are good business opportunities for the companies. “They are the fifth largest company in Egypt. In 2016, they want to become the first company, and this is what Eurofarma looks for in its partners. Eurofarma is seeking a long-term partnership.”
The two companies are medication manufacturers, so Faria explains that the product portfolio of the two may complement each other. “The oncology line was the one with which we identified the most, but I left our full catalogue with them. We may establish a mutual cooperation. He is going to ask his intelligence personnel to look at our list and check for products with sales potential in Egypt,” he said.
Mostafa El Gabaly, the executive director of Abu Zaabal Fertilizer & Chemical Co., came to Brazil seeking contact with his current clients. To the executive, being a leading market for fertilizer sales, Brazil represents a great business opportunity to his company. “This year, we have sold 55,000 tonnes, which is a very low figure, and we expect it to increase,” he claimed. According to him, the goal is to sell 200,000 tonnes.
In addition to the Brazilians who want to sell to Egypt, there are those who want to buy the Arab country’s products. Girresse Kurdi, owner of importing and distributing company Mit Importadora e Distribuidora, came to the event to meet Egyptian yarn and raw cotton producing company Abou Youssef. “They are interested and possess vast experience, especially with Brazil, so we will see if any business will come to be,” said Kurdi.
The Egyptian government also sent a representative to invite the Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras to operate in its territory. Hazem Omar is the CEO of Otco Sugar, but he has come to the country as vice president of the Business Council for Latin America in Egypt. “I have come to promote investment,” he stated.
“There is much to be done between the EGPC [Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation] and Petrobras, in many fields. I know that they [Petrobras] have imported oil from Egypt, but not directly. They have done it via international traders, but they can have it directly. We have no problem in this respect, I can arrange that for them,” he declared. According to Omar, Egypt is also interested in Petrobras’ biofuel and liquefied petroleum gas.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
