São Paulo – Brazilian companies are in talks with a representative from a group of Egyptian companies to sell food to the Arab country. The president of Egy International Import & Export Commercial Agencies, Tareq Said Said, met with suppliers of beef, sugar and poultry at the offices of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, in São Paulo this Tuesday (19th). Said and the executives he is representing on this trip to Brazil work in association with the Egyptian government and are looking for suppliers to cater to Egypt’s demand during Ramadan.
This year, the holy month of Muslims will last from June 18th to July 17th. During this period, the followers of Islam go on a fast from sunup to sundown. Said arrived in Brazil in late April to get in touch with local businesses and import foodstuffs. The Arab Chamber located potential suppliers, of whom one should close the sale of ten containers’ worth of sugar to Egypt over the next few days. Beef sales negotiations will likely last longer, because Egyptian buyers are willing to pay less than the production cost. Said was also slated to meet with poultry suppliers.
One of the Brazilian enterprises involved in the talks was Frigosul, based in Aparecida do Taboado, Mato Grosso do Sul. The company’s commercial director Diego Magnabosco said the company is able to meet the demand and deliver on time, provided that the buyers come forth with a better proposition.
“We have the beef and they have the demand, but the price they’re willing to pay is low,” Magnabosco said. “I believe they will improve their offer, because the price is a bit out of the [market’s] range,” he said. The Egy International representatives wanted to pay approximately US$ 3,200 per ton, a low price for the producers.
“Brazil boasts the best cost-to-benefit ratio for protein, because our quality today is really close to that of Australian beef, for instance, but at a lower cost. In case the Arabs need protein, the product with the best price is Brazil’s,” Magnabosco asserted. Frigosul exports 20% of its beef production to Arab countries. Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, the United Arab Emirates and Algeria are some of the leading buyers.
The Arab Chamber government relations manager, Tamer Mansour, said the buyers need to stock up for the holy month and they regard Brazil as an opportunity. “They need product for the Ramadan, to make sure they are stocked and because of the high prices of commodities to consumers. They are working hard to ensure a supply and slash prices, and their focus is on poultry, beef and sugar,” Mansour explained.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
