São Paulo – The second day of the Saudi Build fair, in the building sector, which began on Sunday (4th) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has already generated business for the Brazilian companies participating in the event. Trading company WK Comercial Exportadora, for example, has already closed the sale of the hot tub exhibited at the stand. "I see many business perspectives," stated the trading company’s director, Igor Erhard Kaufeld.
The company, which is headquartered in the city of Curitiba, capital of the state of Paraná, trades products in the building wood sector, like plywood, doors, frames, doorposts and veneer. According to Kaufeld, the trading company already exports to several Arab countries, both in the Gulf and in North Africa. "Arabs like our products," he said, adding that he has already been in the country for a week, visiting clients.
Another Brazilian company that has already forwarded business at the fair is Braminas, in the granite sector. The commercial director at the mining company, Aricésar Assunção Ribeiro, made a contact in the first day of the event and on the second day visited the retailer’s showroom in Riyadh. "We said we would return to the company on Wednesday, to proceed with talks," said Ribeiro, who does not yet export to Saudi Arabia. According to him, the Saudi businessman also works with building projects in Bahrain and in the Emirates.
The stones that attract the greatest attention of Arab buyers are granites that are blue, like the Azul Fantástico, and pink, like Jacarandá Rosado. In the first days of the event, over 120 people visited the Braminas stand to see the stones and to get catalogues.
Cerâmica Cejatel, from Santa Catarina, is exhibiting for the fist time at a fair in an Arab country. According to the representative of the Export Department at the company, Marcos Sipriano, the organisation does not yet export to the Arab market and is seeking buyers in the region. Apart from Saudi businessmen, Sipriano met representatives from Sudan, Palestine and Syria at the fair.
Of the main products made by Cejatel, ceramic tiles are the ones that have less competition. "It is a differential in the Arab market," said Sipriano, who is also exhibiting flooring.
The Brazilian pavilion, which includes seven companies, plus the Non-Ferrous Metal Artefact Union of the State of São Paulo (Siamfesp), is organized by Conceito Brazil with the support of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and of the embassy of Brazil to Riyadh. In total, Saudi Build includes 490 exhibitors, from 43 countries, and Brazil is the only one from the Americas, except for the United States. This is the 21st edition of the fair, which ends on Wednesday (7th).
According to the International Relations director at Conceito Brazil, Renato Roncatti, Brazilian businessmen greatly praised the quality of the visitors at the fair. "It is a fair with great movement and much quality," he said.
The Brazilian pavilion also includes stands by the Arab Brazilian Chamber and the embassy. In the first day of the fair, the secretary general at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Michel Alaby, met ambassador Sérgio Luiz Canaes, in the company of the business attaché at the embassy, Paulo Uchoa. The organisation made 10 commercial contacts, mainly with Saudi companies. The main items sought were raw materials for industry, like paint and equipment for cement paving.
Yesterday, Alaby made a presentation to Brazilian businessmen about the Saudi market and the characteristics of Arab negotiators, covering cultural and commercial aspects. The secretary general also met with the secretary general of the Council of Saudi Chambers, Fahad S. Alsultan, in Riyadh, where topics discussed included economic information and trade delegations. Alaby is in Riyadh in the company of the Market Development analyst at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Venâncio Goulart.
*Translated by Mark Ament
