São Paulo – Buyers from Oman and the United Arab Emirates are among the importers to participate in business roundtables at Fruit&Tech, an international fair in the fruit, vegetable, technology and logistics sectors, from September 27th to 29th, in São Paulo. The buyers will be brought by the Brazilian Fruit Institute (Ibraf) in partnership with the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).
From the Arab countries, the buyers brought are Abdul Rahiman, from Interworld Foods, from Dubai, and Ahmed Shanavaz, the representative of Abdul Fatah Mohd Noor Co, from Oman. This should be the second time that Rahiman comes to Fruit&Tech. Last year, the director told ANBA that he was interested in Brazilian fruit, mainly watermelon, melon and assai.
Apart from fruit, like oranges, limes and grapes, the company from the Emirates imports chicken from Brazil. Interworld Foods also represents company Abdul Fatah Mohd Noor, from Oman. Both work with import, export and food processing.
"The Arab countries are a potential market for companies in the sector. There are many that already export there and others that are eyeing them," said the executive manager at Ibraf, Valeska de Oliveira. According to her, the fact that these importers are returning to the fair is very positive. "This shows their interest in our companies and that the fair is already included in their event calendar," she added.
From January to July, fruit exports to the Arab countries totalled US$ 6.17 million, growth of 3.51% over the same period last year. In terms of volume, sales presented a reduction of 12%, falling from 11,370 tonnes in 2009 to 9,980 tonnes this year.
International buyers to participate in the fair will also come from Canada, the United States, Russia, the Netherlands, South Africa and Italy and they are interested in apples, grapes, oranges, limes, melon, watermelon, pineapple, figs, guava and avocados. According to Valeska, there is demand for both tropical and temperate fruit, which shows that the organisation is on the right route regarding showing the diversity of flavours in the country.
According to Valeska, business roundtables are very important, even if no deals are closed at the fair. “The meetings are a beginning for negotiations," she said.
On the 29th, within the schedule of the 2nd Fruit&Tech International Seminar, the Market Development manager at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Rodrigo Solano, should make a presentation about the challenges and opportunities faced by the Arab market. Enrolment for participation in the roundtables and fair, as an exhibitor, are still open. Up to the moment there are already some 90 exhibitors registered.
Further information
Site: www.fruitetech.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
