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Dubai – High demand, business conference tables constantly occupied and a deal sealed in the first hours. The 2018 edition of Gulfood, the food industry trade expo that includes over one hundred Brazilian exhibiting companies, five of them at the stand of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, began at a fast pace. This Sunday (18), the fair held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was opened to the public, which attended in high numbers, crowding the alleys and stands of the exhibition center.
The first day hadn’t even reached its midway point and Nutrire, manufacturer of dog and cat food, received an order to send a container to Belize, Central America. Giane Danielli, the company’s import and export manager, celebrated the sale. “The African and Central American buyers represent distributors of several type of products. That’s why many of them become interested in ours too,” explained the manager.
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While ANBA was talking to Danielli, buyers from other countries were peeking at the stand and reading the brochures. Last year, Nutrire attended Gulfood for the first time, without many expectations. “We were positively surprised. We left with many contacts and the negotiations continued throughout the year,” she said, explaining that, at times, the other countries’ legislations prevent deals to go through, due to restrictions to the use of certain ingredients.
Among the contacts made last year, there were business owners from Lebanon and Oman. In the next few days, the manager expects to welcome in her space the visit of contacts from Qatar and Morocco.
The company exports dog and cat food, from the premium and standard lines, to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait and Libya. “There are over 20 countries,” said Danielli, adding that exports account for 30%, in volume, of Nutrire’s output – last year, shipments increased 9.7% over 2016.
In addition to the sale made, exhibitors at the Arab Chamber’s stand welcomed clients and people willing to negotiate. The CEO of O Primo Logística, Augusto Ferraiol, is attending Gulfood for the fifth time – the first as an exhibitor. “We reached a level in which we need to have a space to talk to suppliers and clients,” he told ANBA.
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Specialized in food transportation, the company sends representatives to the sector’s main trade expos – Sial Paris and Shanghai, in France and China, Anuga, in Germany, Seafood Boston, United States, among others. According to Ferraiol, the import of olives and olive oil from Egypt is one of the company’s main business. It also sends high quantities of poultry and beef to the Arab countries. For him, to show your face to importers and exporters is essential for clients to trust your work.
“We send around 500-600 containers to many places in the world. At Gulfood there will be clients that represent around 400 of these containers. Just the feedback we had before the fair opened, with clients willing to schedule meetings, already confirms that we need to here,” he said.
Elaine Guerra, the sales and marketing manager of Ostinato, which exports peanuts, peanut oil, cashew nuts and Brazilian nuts, had reached the same conclusion. “The Middle East market is growing and we are developing the exports to the region. Initially, we are here to present ourselves, since we are focusing on the region,” she said.
For the first time Ostinato is attending Gulfood as an exhibitor, but since 2015 the company has been sending representatives to visit the expo. “Last year, we sealed a deal with a South African company that only went through because we were at Gulfood. This client buys a considerable quantity to make peanut butter,” she said.
Among the Arabs, the company only exports to Algeria, which is the second largest client of products from Brumau, a brand represented by Ostinato. According to Guerra, negotiations are in an advanced stage with a distributor from Egypt and with La Roche, a sweets manufacturer from the UAE – which would use peanuts as input of filled chocolate. She’s confident that she will make a sale in the next few days.
For Paula Costa, Almada’s sales manager, to attend Gulfood is part of a strategy of the spice and herbs exporting company to regain market share in the Arab market. “We spent the last five years focusing on Europe and the United States, and Vietnam ended up taking a lot of space. Now that we are more established in these markets, we will prospect the region again and Gulfood is the ideal expo for this type of work,” she explained.
The company is completely dedicated to exports and 15% of its revenues comes from Arab countries. UAE, Morocco, Syria and Egypt are some of the destinations for the company’s white and black peppers and clove. Although, she doesn’t think she will make a sale during the fair, she’s optimistic with the negotiations. “The Arabs are interested in diversifying suppliers,” she said.
Entering the market
Another exhibitor at the Arab Chamber’s stand, the FIB Halal, wants to introduce itself to suppliers and consumers. The halal certification body has been training its staff for two years and now will strongly start operations in the market. “We have been accredited by the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) and by the Gulf Accreditation Centre (GAC) and we can provide certification for the Gulf’s seven countries, plus the other 27 countries outside of the region,” said Ahmad Ismail, general director of the company.
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According to him, the company focus on Brazilian exhibitors and consumers of halal products attending the expo. FIB Halal seeks clients in the beef, poultry, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics sectors from all of the Islamic countries attending the fair – Gulfood welcomes many visitors from India, for instance. In addition to exhibiting in the stand, the company’s representatives walk around the fair to promote the business, which is not-for-profit: all revenues will go to social causes.
Mohamad Abdouni Neto, Arab Chamber’s director spent the day at the organization’s stand. In addition to welcoming the members and people interested in the organization’s work, he gave interviews to journalists from the UAE and even from Goa, India.
“I was very pleased when told that the companies are already making sales. Normally, in the first day, people come mostly to look.” The number of visitors to the stand was so high that the director couldn’t even find time to walk around the expo. “Tomorrow I’m planning to walk around and visit the Brazilian companies,” he said.
Gulfood will run until next Thursday (22) at the World Trade Centre, Dubai.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
