São Paulo – Representatives of Arab companies who are in São Paulo at the invitation of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, made their first contact with Brazilian industry yesterday. They are importers of products for hotels, restaurants and hospitals who came to Brazil to participate in the New Equipotel, a fair of goods and services for hotels, which began yesterday (14) in the city of São Paulo.
In the morning, the businessmen visited the offices of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, where they met with the Marketing vice president, Rubens Hannun, and the secretary general, Michel Alaby. Apart from a presentation about the Brazilian economy given by Alaby, they also saw a talk by the Market Development Analyst at the Brazilian High-End Furniture Manufacturers Association (Abimad), Bruno Silveira, and another by the Coordinator of the Commercial Intelligence Department at the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association (Abit), Guilherme Amorim.
Silveira pointed out, for example, that many importers, when they come to Brazil for the first time, are surprised with the variety of furniture produced in the country, from the simplest to the most sophisticated, and with production volume. It is an industry that has revenues of over 20 billion reals (US$ 11 billion) a year and exports over US$ 1 billion (US$ 550 million).
In the same line, Amorim pointed out that the textile and garment sector had a turnover of US$ 43 billion last year and exported the equivalent to US$ 2.4 billion. He added that in Brazil all the sectors of the productive chain are present, from cotton crops, for example, to factories of more elaborate garments, including bed, bath and table linen.
These two sectors are present at the Equipotel, as well as others that generated the interest of Arab importers. Rana Khoury, the manager of the hotel supply division at Med.I.C.A, a company from Jordan, is seeking, among other items, tableware and foods.
"We want to see how to expand our hotel division," she said, adding that the group currently imports products from other regions. As the company supplies hospitals, Rana also wants to meet exporters of hotel furniture. She added that the company works not just with the Jordanian market, but also with other countries in the Middle East, like Iraq.
Tarek Amin, the owner of the Egyptian Taco, a supplier of porcelain for hotels, wants to know the characteristics of this industry in Brazil. During the business meetings, he plans to evaluate factors like price, quality and production volume to decide whether or not it is worthwhile importing Brazilian products. He currently only works with Egyptian products. "I am open," he said.
Also in Brazil for the first time, Joyel Sebastian, from Shura Trading, from Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, is searching for exporters of foods and beverages, as the company distributes such products to hotels. The company has special interest in coffee, but also in fruit juice and "all that is related to hotels" in the sectors such as food and beverages. Shura belongs to a great business group in Abu Dhabi, Al Mazroui.
In all, representatives of five Arab companies are going to participate, tomorrow and the day after, in business roundtables with Brazilian companies at the Equipotel. The Arab Brazilian Chamber scheduled an average of 30 meetings for each of the importers. The organisation has a stand at the fair.
*Translated by Mark Ament
