Isaura Daniel*
isaura.daniel@anba.com.br
São Paulo – Brazilian industries in the textile sector will seek markets in the United Arab Emirates in the second half of this year. The Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association (Abit) and the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex) are going to promote a mission from the sector to Dubai, one of the major cities in the Arab country, in October. The Brazilians will participate in business roundtables with industrialists and retailers, which are potential buyers, and visit the main areas for trade in the sector.
The trip will be part of the activities of TexBrasil, a program carried out by the Abit and the Apex, and aimed at promoting textile exports from Brazil. "The Emirates have a large purchasing potential, they do not have a strong industry yet, so they depend on imports,” says the TexBrasil manager at Abit, Rafael Cervone Netto. Data supplied by the organisation show that the Brazilian textile industries earned US$ 5.2 million from sales to the United Arab Emirates last year, an increase of 129% over the US$ 2.2 million recorded in 2005.
From January to April this year, textile exports from Brazil to the Emirates stood at US$ 3.2 million, an increase of 112% over the same period of 2006. Cervone believes that there is a potential for increasing these figures. The group of Brazilians, which should be comprised of businessmen in both the textile mills and raw material sectors, will have approximately three days of activities in Dubai. The exact date for the trip has not yet been defined. Companies interested in participating may submit requests to the Abit, but a selection will be carried out.
The TexBrasil programme was established in 2001, and since then it has carried out more than 250 actions, according to Cervone, aimed at promoting exports of Brazilian products. The activities include participation in fairs, promotion of missions, foreign market training for businessmen, promotion of business roundtables with importers in several Brazilian states, and visits of foreign journalists to Brazil. This year alone will see the participation of industries in the sector at 17 international trade fairs.
The idea of promoting a mission to Dubai came about because, according to Cervone, the country does not yet have any significant fair specialising in the textile sector. In addition to being a consumer centre, Dubai is also an important distribution channel for products to the Arab world. Brazilian textile exports to the countries in the League of Arab States are on the rise: from US$ 15 million in 2005, exports went up to US$ 23 million in 2006. Still, the amount is small if compared to total foreign sales of Brazilian textile products: US$ 159.9 million in May 2007 alone.
The Brazilian textile sector is currently comprised of approximately 30,000 companies. In the last 10 years, those companies invested US$ 10 billion. The sector is the second largest employment generator in the Brazilian processing industry, and employs 1.6 million people, according to data supplied by the Abit. Annual revenues for companies in the sector are approximately US$ 33 billion.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
