Dubai – Brazilian producers of ceramic tiles seeking a share of the Arab market need to face strong competition. The dispute is not just with European nations, but with the local producers themselves. Rak Ceramics, the largest producer of ceramic facing in the Arab country, is present in 150 countries and has daily production of 225,000 square metres.
“We have no competition,” said the business development manager at the company, Omar A. Ibrahim, who is at the Big 5, in Dubai, as an exhibitor. The company, headquartered in Ras Al Khaimah, is part of a group of 14 companies, Rak Group, owned by the deputy ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, Khater Massad.
According to Ibrahim, the crisis did not affect the company business. Last year, sales totalled US$ 524 million, and this year, expectations are to reach US$ 800 million. Whereas production at other companies had to drop due to the crisis, the manager said that at Rak Ceramics production rose by 10%. The flooring made by the Arab company is present in large construction works in the Gulf and worldwide.
Apart from factories in the Emirates, Rak also has production lines in India, China, Sudan, Bangladesh and Iran. The company’s global production is 325,000 square metres of ceramic tiles a day. “Our product is high quality” said Ibrahim. According to him, after the Emirates, the main markets for the company are the GCC, with 22% and Europe, with 22.5%.
According to the manager, Brazil could be a great competitor on the Arab market, but, due to the distance, the freight cost becomes a serious problem. “I know that the quality of Brazilian products is very good,” he said.
On the European side, Mapisa Cerâmica, from Spain, is also present at the Big 5. The company, in the market since 1973, started exporting to the Arabs in the 1980s and the countries of the Middle East currently answer to 35% of company production. "The Arab and Russian markets are our main markets,” said the manager at Mapisa, David de La Cruz.
With 250 employees and production of 1.2 million square metres a year, Mapisa exports to almost all continents. According to Cruz, this is the first time that the company participates in the Big 5. "We expected a much smaller number of visitors, but I was surprised. I made many potential contacts,” said Cruz, who closed deals with new Arab clients at the fair.
Sales by the company are directly to retailers in the Arab market. “We do not work with exclusiveness,” he said. “One of the advantages of the Spanish market is that we are very close to the Arabs, different from Brazil,” he added.
Despite the great competition, Brazilian companies in the sector of ceramics closed deals at the Big 5. Itagres, for example, closed deals with companies in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, as well as India and Spain itself. Villagres, which already has clients in the Arab market, also closed an order with a client in Dubai.
"The Brazilian competitors in the Arab market are very strong. At the fair, I noticed that I have to adapt my product to the taste of the Arabs,” said the export manager at Villagres, Jorge Martins.
*Translated by Mark Ament
