São Paulo – The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce is organizing a business mission to Algeria in October and registrations are open until August 10 for Brazilian companies interested in taking part. Algeria is the fourth-largest market for Brazilian exports among Arab countries and the mission’s aim is to explore business opportunities.
The multi-sector delegation will travel right after SIAL, the world’s largest food products expo, to be held from October 21 to 25 in Paris. The date was planned so Brazilian companies taking part in SIAL can join the mission at a lower cost. A direct flight from Paris to Algiers lasts less than two hours.
The initiative aims to encourage an increase in exports of products that Brazil already sells to Algeria, such as food products, and even seek more market share for products with greater added value from the sector, plus open the Algerian market to other higher-priced Brazilian products, such as machinery, cosmetics and construction materials.
“It’s a way of promoting trade with Algeria more actively,” Arab Chamber Foreign Trade vice president Ruy Carlos Cury told ANBA. According to him, Algeria presents many trade possibilities and is a densely populated country with 40 million people. “It’s important to take over there processed products manufacturers,” says the vice president.
Cury says that the Brazilian delegation will be formed by exporting companies, but that it will also seek opportunities to import Algeria products to Brazil. Algeria has a trade surplus with Brazil, but exports to the Brazilian market mainly oil and gas products. “We’re open to encouraging exports of Algerian products to Brazil,” said Cury to ANBA.
The delegation has planned a three-day schedule in Algeria, October 28, 29 and 30. It will arrive on October 27 and return on October 31. According to the International Business executive of the Arab Chamber, Fernanda Baltazar, the first day will include a B2B meeting with Algerian companies, while the other two days will have a customized schedule for each company, based on profile and interests.
The mission was designed to attend to members of the Arab Chamber. Non-member companies interested in taking part can become members. According to Fernanda, business owners can fill a registration form on the Arab Chamber’s website. The Chamber will then evaluate whether the company’s product is competitive in the Algerian market and if the company is ready to export.
From January to May, Brazil’s exports to Algeria generated USD 432 million, with sugar, maize, beef, soy oil and peanuts as the top-selling products. There was a decline of 17.6% in exports in 2017’s first five months, according to data by the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services (MDIC) compiled by the Arab Chamber.
Meanwhile, Algeria’s exports to Brazil, from January to May of this year, generated USD 678 million. From the total exported, fuels accounted for USD 638 million. Fertilizers came in second with USD 36 million. There was also a decline of 37.5% in Algeria’s exports to Brazil in the year’s first five months over the same months of 2017.
According to the Arab Chamber’s Market Intelligence director, Tamer Mansour, the October mission will be the first of many other activities that the organization plans to organize focusing on the Arab country until 2020. The idea is to organize corporate and sector missions in a partnership with Brazil’s embassy in Algiers.
“Algeria has always been to Brazil an important importing market of inputs, but our plan is to sign strategic partnerships with government bodies to increase sales of higher added value products and open new fronts in the market to the companies,” said Mansour. The director points out that the country is also a trade hub to Sub-Saharan Africa and that there’s a potential to partnerships involving investments between Brazilians and Algerians.
Quick info:
Business Mission to Algeria
From October 27 to 30, 2018
Organized by the Arab Chamber
For more information, call +55 11 3145-3200, or send an e-mail to members@ccab.org.br
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
