São Paulo – Palestinian producers of olive oils, spices, and dates exhibiting at the Anuga Select Brazil trade fair until Thursday (10) at the Distrito Anhembi in São Paulo are seeking partners in Brazil to sell their products at the right points of sale. They are participating in the event at a booth organized by the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC).
Subhi Anabtawi, Director of Development and Cooperation at Al’Ard, says that he needs a distributor with in-depth knowledge of Brazil to ensure that his products reach the target audience. “We don’t want to enter the market blindly,” says Anabtawi. “If we find the right partner, we will send the products, launch a marketing campaign, and carry out the entire process to achieve success,” he adds.
The company is a family business, run by his father, himself, a sister, and a brother. They work with various producers of spices, such as za’atar, and olive oils. Palestine, he says, has only two varieties of olive trees for olive oil production—Nabali and Rumi—making the product “exclusive” and more expensive than its European competitors. For comparison, he notes that Italy has 450 varieties of olive trees.
The general director of Palestine Gardens, Mo’men Sinokrot, is also looking for a partner who understands the Brazilian market. The company produces Medjool dates, a variety known as “the king of dates,” in various sizes in the city of Jericho, West Bank. It exports to more than 50 countries and aims to establish a presence in Brazil as part of its international expansion. “It’s a large market that responds well to healthy marketing appeals,” he says. Dates are sweet, nutrient-rich fruits, a feature leveraged by sellers.
Firas Salhab, sales manager at Nakheel Palestine, wants to resume exporting dates produced in Jericho to Brazil. The company had a local partner until 2021, but the business relationship was discontinued. Now, it is looking for a direct client for its products. Of the 4,000 tons of Medjool dates the company produces annually, approximately 2,500 are allocated for export.
Opportunities via Brazil
Yousef Laham, Export Promotion Manager at the Palestine Trade Center (Paltrade), an institution that promotes Palestinian products abroad, sees potential in business with Brazil. Participating in the Brazilian trade fair for the first time, he says that Palestinian products are already exported to Europe and well-established in the Middle East. Now, he envisions a new frontier in the Brazilian market. “Perhaps we can even sell Palestinian products to Brazil’s neighboring countries. Brazil could account for half of our sales in the region, while the other countries would make up the other half,” he says. He estimates an initial market for 100 tons of olive oil, dates, spices, and other Palestinian food products. “From there, we can expand exports year by year,” he projects.
