Dubai – Getting to know the Arab market, prospecting potential buyers and distributors, and opening an office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. These are some of the goals of the companies participating in a business mission held by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) to the UAE and Qatar that started on Sunday (31) and will end next weekend in Doha.
In the first day of a week full of activities, businesspeople from eleven Brazil-based firms met in the ABCC office in Dubai for a first briefing and a seminar on innovation given by Atton Institute. ABCC president Osmar Chohfi introduced the subject of business in the Arab world and said this is a market that presents major attractions for Brazil since it has a young, fast-growing population, and because the UAE combines a great respect for tradition with an amazing modernity.
“The UAE is super connected, and it has seen major logistics developments in recent years. It arrived in a quite modern world in terms of business facilitation,” he said, mentioning the importance of getting to know the halal market, with halal meaning fit for Muslim consumption. “It’ important that the Brazilians learn about this,” he said.
ABCC secretary-general Tamer Mansour gave a speech, too. According to him, the companies that have come to Dubai should think on a business environment in the medium and long term. “Try to take in as much as possible. It’s a very different world, and you’ll learn how to negotiate with different countries,” he said. He gave an example saying that in North Africa you usually negotiate directly with the company’s owner, while in the Gulf the meetings are usually carried out by employees, and the Emirati only step in to close deals after two or three meetings.
“Dubai has always been a place of connection, of knowledge, far beyond a business environment. Try to meet new people, broaden this network in your fields and acquire more experiences on this world while you’re here,” he instructed, mentioning Qatar Cup to take place next year, since Doha will be the second destination of the mission.
Participating in the mission is Silvano Luna, owner of Cacau Foods do Brazil; Flavio Quintanilha, managing partner of Ecotrading; Valéria Cristina Natal, executive director of Distillerie Stock do Brasil; Ali Mohamed El Turk, of Indústrias Almina; Víctor Martínez, CEO of Bendita Mandioca; Josiel Feliciano, CEO of JCF Embalagens; Rafaella Gomes, CBO, Ramom Vasconcelos, COO of Zoo Flora; Magali Garcia Rodrigues, Exports manager of Ziggy; Rodrigo Bicasa, purchases manager of Intercroma; Humberto Florezi Filho, CEO of Falcafé; and Nizar El Gandhour, International Relations director of Fambras Halal.
Stock do Brasil
Valéria Natal of beverage company Stock do Brasil told ANBA that they have recently started exporting fruit concentrates to Saudi Arabia, and two containers have already been shipped. The concentrate line features 36 flavors, including Brazilian typical fruits like guarana, açaí, passionfruit and guava. Natal said that she knows the Muslim Arabs are heavy users of syrups in coffeeshops and mocktails – non-alcoholic cocktails – and this is a great opportunity for learning about the local way of doing business.
“We see many opportunities in the region, and we want to start exporting to the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and the entire Arab world. My goal is learning more about the Arab market and export more. We’ll be in Gulfood next year.”
In addition to concentrates, Stock also produces alcoholic beverages like gin Seagers and liquors Sctock. “Maybe in the near future we could break into the alcoholic market, too,” she said.
Falcafé
Humberto Florezi Filho of Falcafé said the company exports green coffee all over the world and that the Middle East is the fastest-growing consuming region. He sells 30-kg, 60-kg, 1-tonne bags and in bulk. “Our goal is having a hub here in Dubai to reexport to neighboring countries in the Middle East and Asia as well as serving microroasters of small coffeeshops that serve specialty coffees here in Dubai, and there’re many of them. It’s a very powerful market and a great market for specialty coffee from Brazil,” he said.
Due to the world logistics crisis, Florezi started exporting more by air. “Despite the higher cost, we export by air, and we’re increasing the volume of air exports,” he said. He plans on doubling the volume of exports to the region in the next couple of years.
Ziggy
Ziggy, a tobacco and shisha company, is seeking to go international. Exports manager Magali Garcia Rodrigues told ANBA the family business manufactures a straw cigarette line and Dom Porfirio cigars, as well as 15 hookah essences like mandarin, mint, watermelon, cashew, coffee, and passionfruit. “The partners have decided to international, and this is my first visit to the UAE. I came to research the market, see how the free zones work and look into the possibility of establishing our own distribution hub here,” Rodrigues said. She’ll meet a local distributor on Tuesday (2)
ABCC New Business director Daniella Leite leads the business mission together with ABCC International Business consultant Karen Mizuta.
Tamer Mansour finished by saying that Dubai is where global business is taking place right now. “It’s as if there hasn’t even been a pandemic, as people are feeling very safe in doing business. This was only the first month of Expo. The exhibition will end in March, and then in November [next year] we’ll see the Qatar Cup. The world is trusting more and more in the Arabs, and this is where business is taking place,” he said.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
