São Paulo – Al-Manji Group, an Omani importing company, wants to buy foodstuffs from Brazil, and the company’s chairman of the board, Salim Sulaiman Sloum Al-Manji, is in São Paulo seeking suppliers. The businessman attended business meetings with food and machinery executives this Wednesday (26th) and Thursday (27th) at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce . According to him, there is an 80% chance of doing business. Al-Manji will be in Rio de Janeiro as of next weekend, where he will attend the final match of the Confederations Cup, to which the Brazilian national team has qualified.
Al-Manji is also the vice president of the Omani Human Resources and Labour Market Committee, and a member of the Food Security Committee at the Omani Chamber of Commerce and Industry. His trip to Brazil is part of a project of the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex) to bring importers to the country so they may see the productive sector first hand and watch Confederations Cup games, which are taking place in the country. Because he is Arab, his trip was also sponsored by the Arab Brazilian Chamber. He arrived in Brazil last Monday (24th).
As a member of the Omani Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Al-Manji says his country is concerned with food security, and this was one of the reasons for his trip. Oman basically produces oil and gas. One of its few food products is dates; the remaining items are all imported. In Brazil, Al-Manji is mostly looking for poultry, lemons, apples and ginger. His company, however, imports other meats, such as beef, as well as canned goods and fruit of all sorts.
Al-Manji says he wants to see even more of the Brazilian food industry. The Al-Manji Group imports products and distributes them on the Omani market, as well as to other countries in the region. The company imports 80 to 90 tonnes of fruit per month, for instance. It does not buy from Brazil yet – it has only received some Brazilian product via Dubai –, and this was the businessman’s first time in the country. The main supplying country to Al Manji, according to the businessman, is China.
According to Al-Manji, prior to coming to São Paulo he knew nothing of Brazil, which he associated only with football. Since he arrived, however, his view began to change. “I am taking with me a grandiose image, that Brazil is not about just football, it is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to foods,” the businessman told ANBA. The Omani says he intends to return to Brazil as soon as possible. Not only does he wish to buy foodstuffs from the country, he also plans on entering into partnerships with companies to sell their products in Oman.
As a member of the Omani Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he is also keen on strengthening commercial ties between Brazil and his country, having more Brazilians travel to Oman and partner up with the Arab country. Aside from attending business meetings, Al-Manji also visited the cereal trading areas in São Paulo, such as Mercado Municipal, tasted local fruit and approved of their quality.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
