São Paulo – Vitória Stone Fair, a fair in the ornamental stone sector, which took place in Vitória, capital city of the state of Espírito Santo, attracted Arab importers who came to Brazil seeking exotic granite and marble. According to the Business analyst at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Ana Paula Paura, who participated in the fair, at least five Arab buyers were at the fair and they all pointed out the different stone that Brazil offers.
"Brazil offers diversity in colour and exotic stone,” said Paura. The Arab Brazilian Chamber participated in Vitória Stone Fair with a stand to support the Arab importers who participated and also the Brazilians interested in doing business with visitors from the Middle East. According to Paura, from the region, the fair received buyers from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Palestine and the United Arab Emirates. According to the analyst, they want to make Brazil into a traditional supplier, like the United States, Canada and other nations in Latin America.
Apart from the importers, Vitória Stone Fair also had two exporters from the Arab market, Verona, from Palestine, and Phoenician Arts, from Lebanon. The Palestinian company imports granite from Brazil and exports marble. The Lebanese organisation sells items made in mosaics, pieces of marble and granite, like carpets, pictures, tiles for swimming pools, among others. Among the importers visiting the fair were large companies like Glaze, a distributor of ornamental stone from the Emirates.
According to figures disclosed by the organizers of Vitória Stone Fair, Brazil is the eight main exporter of ornamental stone blocks and the fifth in finished products. The market has a turnover of US$ 2.1 billion a year, including domestic trade, exports, inputs and purchase of equipment, among others. Brazil has over 1,200 varieties of ornamental stone and there are 12,000 companies operating in the area.
*Translated by Mark Ament
