São Paulo – The participation of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in Tripoli International Fair, in Libya, resulted in 90 new contacts with Arab businessmen interested in negotiating with Brazilian companies. The most sought sectors were foodstuffs and building material, ranging from cement to decorative objects. This was the 38th edition of the fair, which is multisectoral and open to the public.
The premises of the Arab Brazilian Chamber at the fair featured Brazilian products by the foodstuffs, footwear, textile, and medical-hospital industries. The businessmen who visited the stand over the course of the eleven days of the fair – which ran from April 2nd to 12th – were also able to check out products by companies Oderich and Vapza, represented by trading company Latinex, footwear by manufacturer Grendene, and promotional material by foodstuff manufacturer Perdigão.
As published by ANBA at the beginning of this month, the first container of Grendene footwear for women, men and children should arrive in Libya in late April. In order to promote the brand in the country, its local representative, Mohamed Salah, participated in Tripoli Fair. Salah owns 17 footwear stores in Libya and has been negotiating with the Brazilian company since last year. According to him, the aim is to expand the Brazilian brand, which is still little known in the North African countries, of which Libya is a part. Grendene also has representatives in Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria.
According to Filipe Ferraz, marketing analyst at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, the stand was visited by businessmen from Jordan, Egypt, and most of all Libya. The highlights among the visitors were a businessman interested in hiring Brazilian companies willing to invest in the construction of ports, and another one who was looking for companies that may become partners for the development of civil construction projects. The stand also received businessmen interested in electric material and in partnerships turned to the tourism industry.
Furthermore, Ferraz and André Caserta, foreign trade assistant at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, are bringing home a list of 350 contacts for Libyan companies, as well as information on import and export laws, so as to instruct Brazilian businessmen on how best to go about negotiating with the country. The material was supplied by the Libyan Businessmen Council.
“Upon returning to Brazil, we are going to include the contacts of importer and exporter companies in the registry of companies of our Foreign Trade Department, check the information supplied by the businessmen, and then intermediate contacts with Brazilian companies that fit the profile,” explains Filipe.
Trade relations between Brazilians and Libyans have grown in recent years. In 2008, Brazilian exports to Libya totalled US$ 373 million, representing growth of 56% over 2007. Iron ore, beef, sugar, butylene, maize, granite and coffee were the main products shipped in 2008. In turn, Brazilian imports from Libya totalled US$ 1.4 billion last year, as against US$ 997.6 million in 2007. Petroleum and naphtha for the petrochemical industry are the main items responsible for the deficit, on the Brazilian side, in the balance of trade between the two countries.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
