Riyadh – The trade mission that the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade will promote to the Middle East is resulting in business deals for Brazilian enterprises. Such is the case with the JBS group, a Brazilian multinational food company. “The mission is being good in order for us to set our strategy for 2011,” said Glauber Pires Ferreira, of the company’s meats division, during a business meeting held this Saturday (4th), in Riyadh.
He believes that the contacts made thus far in Syria, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia may lead to a minimum of US$ 100 million in exports next year. “We are strengthening the contacts that we already have and seeking new deals,” he said. JBS, which owns the Friboi brand, is best known for its meat production, but has acquired several enterprises over the last few years and began operating in other segments.
In the mission, the company is showcasing products such as Vigor margarine, mayonnaise and juices and Swift vegetable preserves, two brands that have been purchased by the group. Because the price of Brazilian meat is now high, a wide range of items helps keep the company’s business abroad. Ferreira declared, however, that the competitiveness of Brazilian meat should be resumed starting in January.
Prospecting new clients and introducing new brands is also the job of Hideyuki Kamimura, of Bauducco, a manufacturer of biscuits, cakes and panettone. The enterprise sells to the entire region, but wants to expand its range even further, in addition to introducing the Visconti brand. “It is a promising market, interesting to us,” said Kamimura. “The acceptance is good, especially for the wafers and cookies,” she added.
In turn, Marlucia Martire, of ALM Brazil, a trading company in charge of coconut brand Ducoco’s sales to the Middle East, claimed that she has a contract nearly closed for exporting coconut water and grated coconut for an importer in Damascus, Syria. She also has an order for coconut fat for February, placed by a Saudi chocolate manufacturer.
Marlucia, who has been to Saudi Arabia in 2009, stated that local importers already acknowledge the quality of Brazilian products and no longer complain about freight costs. “They are aware that the Brazilian product is well accepted [by consumers],” she said.
Entrepreneurs
The women in the delegation claimed that they had no problems negotiating with the Saudi businessmen. The country follows an extremely conservative Islamic orientation with regard to customs, which discourages interaction between men and women who are not related.
The treatment awarded to the Brazilian women shows that presently there is a certain degree of openness in Saudi society, as well as the attendance of businesswomen from the Arab country at the business roundtables held in the Al Faisaliah Hotel, in Riyadh. Veterans in doing business with Saudis commented that this was not seen in the past.
The export manager for Ruette Spices, based in the city of Campinas, Cristina Guerreiro, stated, after speaking with a local businesswoman, that she possessed vast knowledge of the market and of the competitors of the Brazilian brand, which exports mainly bulk black pepper. Wearing the abaya, a black robe that covers the entire body, and a veil on the head, however is still a requirement.
Supply
Leonardo Bonaparte, of Tangará, an exporter of milk powder and green coffee, claimed that there is a strong demand for foodstuffs in the region. “They know Brazil is a great breeding ground, especially here in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
The price of milk is very high in Brazil and exporters have been unable to remain competitive on the international market, but Bonaparte underscored the need to maintain dialogue with importers in order to start selling again once the price drops. “The demand is very strong, and we need to do some mapping for when Brazil regains its competitiveness,” he said.
There is great concern in Saudi Arabia and in Arab countries in general regarding food security, ever since international prices rose rapidly in early 2008. “It was alarming for many countries, the way prices rocketed in 2008”, said the Saudi vice-minister of Finance, Hamad Al Bazai, at a meeting with the Brazilian minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Miguel Jorge, who is heading the mission.
The world food crisis worsened the problem for the Saudis, who had launched a plan for agricultural investment abroad one year before that. The desert-like country decided to cease to develop local agriculture in order to save water for human consumption and began promoting crops abroad, especially in Africa. “From then on, we started to think about food security differently,” said Bazai.
Jorge replied that Brazil “is ready to aid in the efforts” of Saudi Arabia to ensure its food supplies. “We may cooperate strongly in this field,” he added. The Brazilian delegation comprises agricultural companies that seek investors for new projects, as well as representatives of the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture.
The president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce , Salim Taufic Schahin, stated that Brazil “is a country that is friendly to the Arabs.” “We will probably break a record in exports to the Arab world this year,“ said he, adding that Saudi Arabia is the leading target for Brazilian products in the region.
Jorge also met with the Saudi minister of Agriculture, Fahd Bin Abdulrahman Balghunaim, who visited Brazil in October. According to the director of the International Promotion Department of the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Eduardo Sampaio Marques, who attended the meeting, the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries was discussed, in order to regulate eventual Saudi investment in agriculture.
Joy
At the opening of the business roundtables, Jorge underscored that on Friday (3rd), president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva officially recognized the Palestinian State, in one of the last international politics-related acts of his second term in office, which will end in less than a month.
To that end, the minister highlighted the importance ascribed to the relations with the Arab world over the eight years of the Lula administration. “To us it is a joy to be here, on this last mission, in the Arab world, of all places,” said Jorge. The delegation’s trip will end on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
