São Paulo – Twenty Arab enterprises and 50 Brazilian trading companies are engaging in business roundtables at the event “Brasil Trade Oriente Médio” (Brazil Trade Middle East), this Wednesday (8th) and Thursday (9th) in São Paulo. The Arab importers are in the food, construction material and furniture industries. The Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex), which organizes the event in partnership with the Brazilian Council of Commercial Exporting and Importing Companies (CECIEx), expects US$ 30 million in business deals to be generated.
The 250-odd negotiations that should take place over these two days are a continuation of the first edition of “Brasil Trade Oriente Médio,” held in May Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. The event is part of Tradings do Brasil (Trading Companies from Brazil), a project promoted by the Apex in order to foster exports, especially by small and medium enterprises.
According to Juarez Leal, the coordinator of Apex’s Projects Unit, participating Arab companies are giving very positive feedback about the talks. “They do not possess in-depth knowledge of the type of goods that Brazil can supply. They have a limited awareness of our market, and through this project they are beginning to realize how important the country is,” he says. The event is attended by enterprises from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
The executive underscored the relevance of the Arab market for increasing Brazilian exports. “At the Apex, we believe that the axis of growth is the southern axis, which passes through Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Thus, it is a priority when it comes to our promotional efforts.”
Nawaz Khan, the general manager of Unique Closets, a Saudi wardrobe manufacturing company, claims that he does not buy from Brazil yet, but is seeking new options of raw material suppliers for his products. “If the pricing and quality are better, then I will surely buy from Brazil,” he says. Presently, he imports wood and other items from companies such as Germany, Austria, Spain and Italy. The import value reaches 2 million euros per year.
Carolina Salles, a trader for milk powder company Serlac, believes that the roundtables should lead to new business deals for her company, which already exports to the Arab world. “We like that market. The idea is to expand a lot, and that is why we are attending the Gulfood and events such as this.”
Rehan Yaqoob, an associate director for Wholesale and Catering at the United Arab Emirates-based Federal Foods, already imports poultry and beef from Brazil, and is seeking suppliers of others products, such as soy oil, rice and milk. “Today, I had a meeting with Serlac, because we are seeking options for milk, due to the fact that prices in Europe are high as a result of subsidies. I think there are opportunities for us in Brazil,” he stated.
Roberto Ticoulat, the coordinator of CECIEx, highlights the quality of Arab companies attending the event. “The Middle East is, first and foremost, the market to which Brazilian exports have been growing the most,” he says. “I am impressed with the professionalism of the companies that have come to Brazil. I have been asking participants for feedback and they are all very well impressed with the business potential,” he finishes off.
To Maurício Manfré, the coordinator of the Tradings do Brasil project, the event should be positive to all of the attending industries. “We have strong prospects for growth across all industries. We are the strongest in foodstuffs, but we have a strong capacity to innovate our products in order to compete with the rest of the world.”
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
