Dubai – Brazilian companies that participated as exhibitors in the food and beverage trade show Gulfood in Dubai were satisfied with the contacts and results achieved in the event. This Thursday (21), the last day of Gulfood, some companies had already been gone and others kept receiving people and making last-minute contacts.
“The Middle East and North Arica are a stable market for the food sector because they rely on product imports, and for Brazil there is a great growth potential in this region,” assessed Karen Jones, operative chief-executive in the Office for the Middle East and North Africa, located in Dubai. “The companies are quite satisfied with the results from Gulfood, and APEX and the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce will keep working together to make Brazilian businesses easier in the region,” she told.
For the director of the Brazilian sugar trading company RCMA Felipe Ferraz, the show yielded more than 100 contacts from different countries, specially from Africa and the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and the non-Arabs Madagascar, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. “Now it is time to follow up during the next couple of months to make deals with these new contacts,” said Ferraz. He explained that, since the commodity is listed in the stock market, there is some volatility keeping deals from being made during the show.
“This was our first time as exhibitors and it is an intense experience, quite different from coming as visitors. We had many opportunities to meet people who were outside our radar,” said Ferraz. RCMA Group had a space in the Arab Brazilian Chamber stand, and in addition to Felipe, the French trader Thomas Houdot was also receiving the visitors. “We really enjoyed the stand location, in a corridor with a great people flow, and the results were very positive,” assessed Ferraz.
Key Trade, a trading company specialized in importing food products, cosmetics, and construction material based in Itajaí, Brazil, was represented by its director for new deals, Davi Sierra, at the Arab Brazilian Chamber’s stand, together with five companies that had their own spaces (Florestal, Dom Glutão, Nutrire, RCMA Group, and O Primo Logística). “Gulfood exceeded our expectations. We found good products to import to Brazil and good distributors to sell our products here in the Middle East region,” Sierra said.
The trading company already makes businesses with six countries – China, Portugal, Netherlands, Italy, Paraguay and Colombia – and after its first participation in Gulfood, it could start working with the Arab world. According to Sierra, deals were made with the Emirati snack company Hunter Foods, a Turkish olive oil company, and a Polish non-alcoholic beverage company. “We intend to return the next year with a space in the Arab Brazilian Chamber’s stand,” said Sierra, who also made contacts with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
The O Primo Logística trade manager Otavio Cavalcanti said all their Brazilian clients wishing to make business in the region visited Gulfood. The sea and air freight company specialized in the food market participates in the show for the fourth time, and it is their second year with their own space in the Arab Brazilian Chamber’s stand. “It is always good for us to be in Gulfood, where we visited clients and met new Brazilian companies that want to export to the Gulf region and Africa. We talked to many Brazilian companies exhibiting here to offer our transport service, provided budgets, and helped these companies making deals with buyers visiting the show,” explained Cavalcanti.
Angélica Niero, exports manager in Florestal, candy, caramel and lollipop company that was in the Arab Brazilian Chamber’s stand, got the attention of colleagues from other companies present because of her assertive, constant work throughout the show. Niero said that during these five days, she sold to Qatar, Congo, Turkey, resumed sales to Djibouti and New Zealand, as well as selling a testing lot for Guinea. “The client from Conakry requested a 20-foot container to test,” she told.
Niero also said there is a great chance they will make deals with China, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Burundi, Chad, Pakistan, and others. “We received fewer visits this year, but considering the follow-up along the next month, the show this year should result in even more deals than the last edition,” pondered Niero. The low price of the products sold and the already adapted packages and certifications of the brand make the selling process easier. “The participation in Gulfood is very important because the Middle East and Africa are our main markets,” she stressed.
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In APEX-Brasil pavilion, the milk products company Alibra was participating for the third time in the show. “This year we acquired the halal certification for our products, which make all the difference to work in this region,” stated the company’s exports manager Débora Lapa. According to her, Alibra worked only in Mauritania (among the Arab countries) until last year, and since its certification, it started exporting to Egypt and is negotiating with Qatar and Oman now.
For Débora, Gulfood this year yielded fewer contacts, but more quality among the visitors. Alibra exports approximately 20% of the total produced, and its main markets are South America, Central America, and West Africa. This is a serious show that yields great contacts, and many African clients can’t obtain a visa to participate in the main shows of the sector, such as Anuga and SIAL Paris in Europe, so it is worth coming here,” pondered Lapa.
The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce president Rubens Hannun said that each year Gulfood becomes more and more important for Brazilian businessmen. “It was interesting to see that Brazilian businessmen know they must come, that they are aware of the event’s reach, which encompasses the whole world,” he assessed.
“Gulfood is one of the Arab Brazilian Chamber pillars, one of the most important international events for us,” said Hannun. The Arab Brazilian Chamber has participated in the food show for twenty years and it is the third year in a row it has its own stand with Brazilian companies. “And this is the Arab Brazilian Chamber’ role, to give support to Brazilian companies whether they are in our stand or not. And now, with the launch of the first Arab Brazilian Chamber international office here in Dubai, we are very committed to bring Arabs and Brazilians even closer. Being here will make possible to detect new business opportunities and sectorial events more swiftly,” stressed he.
Gulfood’s 24th edition occurred from February 17 to 21 in Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
