São Paulo – Orange juice made by Maratá, a company based in the state of Sergipe, is already shipped to five Arab countries. Algeria is the main importer, and the product is also sold to the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Jordan and Kuwait. Now, the brand is betting on other items in its product line to increase sales to the region, which are currently lower than 10% of its overall exports.
For such, Maratá has been investing in going to trade events attended by Middle Eastern businessmen, such as the mission to Iran, Egypt and Lebanon that took place last April, organized by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, and the Buyer Project promoted last May by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, which counted on the presence of Arab supermarket owners and distributors.
Products such as coffee, pepper, sauces, balsamic vinegar, boxed and powder juice attracted the attention of Arab businessmen and led the company to start new negotiations with potential clients in the region, says the export coordinator, Daniel Apoluceno.
“The Middle Eastern market is not very large, but it pays more than the others,” says Apoluceno. He also claims that direct contact with buyers from the region makes it easier to negotiate with them, a task that is usually undertaken by European trading companies.
“Arab people have this tradition of wanting to meet you,” says the coordinator. “We have good [business] expectations, because when you eliminate intermediaries, your profitability grows even further,” he adds.
According to Apoluceno, Maratá exports over 90% of its orange juice production, and roughly 75% of other flavours, such as passion fruit, pineapple and mango. The executive explains that 80% of all orange juice exported worldwide comes from Brazil.
With regard to the Arab market, to which the company has been selling since 2007, the executive also claims that the region’s taste for orange juice is very similar to that of Brazilians. “They prefer sweet juice, made from riper oranges, as opposed to Europe, where the weather is cold and people like their juice more acid.”
Contact
Maratá
E-mail: apoluceno@marata.com.br
Site: www.marata.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
