São Paulo – This is the first visit of Alkeraida Dates’ general manager, Abdulrahman Mohammed Al-Keraida, to Brazil, but he says he is “100% sure it won’t be the last.” His company is attending Anuga Select Brazil this week at Distrito Anhembi in São Paulo to showcase its dates. The goal, he says, is to sell directly to Brazil, and from there, reach customers across Latin America.
Alkeraida Dates is based in Unaizah, in the Al Qassim district, north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The company can produce up to five tonnes per day of a nutrient-rich, sweet fruit, benefiting from the city’s conditions: A dry climate, summer temperatures of 50°C, and moist, nutrient-rich soil ideal for date palms.
The executive says he is at Anuga to understand Brazilian consumers’ taste and behavior regarding dates. The most exported variety is sukkary rutab (loosely translated as sweet and moist) due to its quality, but other varieties may also appeal to Brazilian palates. “The Brazilian market is very important because we believe its people love healthy food, and this date is packed with nutrients,” he explains.
Al-Keraida says that exporting to Brazil is also an opportunity to strengthen trade ties between the two countries, as Brazil is already a major food supplier to Saudi Arabia. “Our target is Latin America in general and Brazil in particular due to its large population. We’re far apart, but Brazil is one of the largest exporters to Saudi Arabia, and we strongly believe in the complementarity between our countries. We import a lot, and we want to export to Brazil,” he says. He also plans to sell more than just dates—he wants to export date-based sweets, such as ma’amoul, a pastry made with semolina, milk, and butter, filled with dates.
Al-Keraida is part of a delegation from the Unaizah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where he serves as vice president. The delegation traveled to Brazil for Anuga and a series of meetings. On Monday (7), they visited a company that develops and markets processed date-based products. In addition to Alkeraida, the booth organized by the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) also features representatives from Khalas Dates, Raghd, and Zamil Food.
In November last year, Rafael Solimeo, head of the ABCC’s office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, attended the Unaizah International Dates Season, a festival dedicated to dates in the city. His participation was a result of a memorandum of understanding signed between the ABCC and the Unaizah Chamber during the Gulfood trade fair in Dubai. This week’s visit by Saudi entrepreneurs to Anuga is a direct outcome of these earlier engagements.
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Brazilians, Saudis negotiate date deal
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
