Dubai – Meetings between Brazilian and Arab companies in the food sector, promoted by the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) today (22), in Dubai, generated good business. New Max, for example, a maker of powdered milk based on soy, should ship 60 crates of the product to Saudi Arabia. In total, there are 1,440 cans of milk in several flavours, like natural, strawberry, chocolate and vanilla.
This should be the company’s first export to the Arab market. "It was a pilot order to test the product on the Saudi Market," said Eril Mineli, who is responsible for the foreign sales department at the company. He made over 20 contacts at the Flavours from Brazil event, which brought together 39 Brazilian companies and 300 Arab ones.
Most of the producers said that they made positive and promising contacts at the event, with many receiving orders for samples from several importers in the Arab market. Saudi group Thamer, for example, which only imported meats and coffee from Brazil, placed orders from six companies, in the coffee, panetone, biscuit, cake mix, meat and grape juice sectors. "The organizers of the event are to be congratulated. I made many positive contacts," said group president Jalal Thamer.
Another importer who came to learn about the Brazilian products was sales manager Mohamed Hassan, of Maza group, in Barhain. "In Dubai, Brazilian products are already well known, different from Bahrain, where people only know the chicken," he said, adding that he already imports sugar and chicken from Brazil. Among the main interests for his group were the lines of biscuits and milk.
Maza, which has been operating in Bahrain for 90 years, is one of the leading companies in the import and distribution of food. Apart form Brazil, the group imports from England, Argentina and the United States, among others.
One of the Brazilian companies that was very satisfied with the contacts made was Aurora, a producer of wine and grape juice. According to the export manager at the company, Rosana Pasini, the grape juice made by the company was served yesterday (21) in the Apex dinner for 250 guests from Arab countries, and it was a great success. In the first three hours of the business roundtables, Rosana had already spoken to 17 importers interested in the juice. "We are the only winery with halal certification and are the only Brazilian grape juice with a stamp by the Brazilian Cardiology Society (SBC)," she said.
Aurora, which has 30% of the Brazilian whole grape juice market, does not yet export to the Arab market, but believes there is great potential for its products in the Arab nations. "All the juices here are concentrated and packed in TetraPak, different from our bottled product, which has no sugar, water or pigment," she added.
Despite being greatly praised by Arab importers, who could sample sweets, biscuits, meats and coffee, among other Brazilian products during the event, some were concerned with the lack of preparation and aggressiveness of Brazilian companies on the foreign market. Importer Alayed Mohammed, of Saudi trading Namag United Trading, said that he has been buying from Brazil for 15 years, but that he finds it hard to negotiate with Brazilians.
Mohammed mentioned, for example, the lack of packages translated into Arabic, the fact that exporters do not speak another language other than Portuguese, the lack of promotion of Brazilian products on the Arab market and the lack of exclusive contracts with distributors. "We have potential to import much more from Brazil, but we feel difficulties," he said.
*Translated by Mark Ament
