Alexandre Rocha*
São Paulo – Friboi Group, the largest meatpacking group in Brazil, is participating for the first time in the Gulfood fair, which began on the 19th and ends today (22), in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The objective of the company, which has a 36 square-metre stand at the fair, is to consolidate its presence in the cattle beef market in the region.
"The Middle East is currently a priority market for our company, and we have been investing heavily, so it is important for us to be present at the fair," stated the company trader for the region, Luis Rota. According to him, between 17% and 18% of Friboi exports are to the region. Shipments to the Middle East, not considering the north of Africa, grew over 100% between 2004 and 2005.
To Rota, the fair is strategic as it makes contact with importers from the Emirates and the whole of the Middle East and North Africa possible, including Arab and non-Arab countries. The event is also considered a good channel for entry into the worldwide halal food market, of products processed according to Islamic rites. According to an article published by Emirates News Agency (WAM), and recently reproduced by ANBA, it is estimated that the halal market had a turnover of US$ 150 billion worldwide in 2005.
"The fair is spectacular, we have been receiving great movement at the stand," stated Rota. According to him, the main destinations for Friboi products in the region are currently Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Palestine, Lebanon, the Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman. Before the beginning of the event, the organization disclosed that it expects over 30,000 visitors from 120 countries.
The group
Friboi was established in 1953 in Anápolis, in the midwestern Brazilian state of Goiás, and, according to information supplied by the company itself, it is currently the largest exporter of meats in Latin America and is among the four largest meatpacking companies in the world. Apart from raw cattle beef, the company produces industrialized and pickled food, like hamburgers, meatballs, maize and peas. The slaughterhouse processes 16,000 heads of cattle a day.
The group, currently based in the southeastern Brazilian city of São Paulo, also has a hygiene and cleaning product division, which makes soaps, detergents, disinfectants, coconut soap and powdered soap. In all, Friboi has 21 units in eight Brazilian states, including slaughterhouses and industries, as well as three farms.
Last year the company purchased Argentine slaughterhouse Swift Armour and thus gained two new industrial complexes in Argentina, in Rosário and San José, as well as the head office in Buenos Aires. Friboi currently employs 18,000 people in Brazil and 2,000 in Argentina.
Contact
Friboi
Luis Rota, trader
Tel: (+55 11) 3144 4324
*Translated by Mark Ament
