São Paulo – The construction industry is growing at full speed in Saudi Arabia and the segment needs suppliers. This is one of the conclusions of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce‘s participation in Saudi Build, a building industry trade fair that ended Thursday (21st) in Riyadh, the capital of the Arab country. According to the organization’s Market Development analyst, Marcus Vinícius, who attended the fair, Saudi Arabia has solid construction projects boosted by an actual domestic demand.
The ascertainment is based on the demand for information on Brazilian building material at the Arab Brazilian Chamber’s stand at Saudi Build, as well as on talks with local authorities. During the period of the exhibition, which began last Monday (18th), Vinícius met with the Brazilian ambassador in Riyadh, Sérgio Luiz Canaes, and other representatives of Brazilian diplomacy in the country, and he also met with Ahmed Al Horaish, a member of the board of the Council of Saudi Chambers.
According to Vinícius, Saudi construction projects have primarily domestic rather than foreign investment and consist of buildings to be used by citizens or local enterprises. Stones, for instance, are highly sought after in the country. Brazilian construction material, however, is not well known among Saudis, says the analyst. According to him, Brazil is better known in the Arab country for its food and football.
A survey conducted by the Arab Brazilian Chamber’s Market Development Department, based on figures supplied by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, pointed out that Saudi Arabia imported from Brazil the equivalent of only US$ 4.2 million in construction products from January to September this year. The survey indicates, however, that the Saudi market has strong potential for Brazilian tiles, ceramics, paving, stones, taps and electric material for infrastructure.
According to Vinícius, the Arab Brazilian Chamber’s space at Saudi Build received approximately 30 visitors interested in purchasing products from Brazil. They requested information about products such as marble and granite, bathroom and kitchen metals, electric devices and machinery, and products in other segments such as food, clothing and shoes. The demand will be forwarded by the Arab Brazilian Chamber to exporters in Brazil.
The Arab Brazilian Chamber participated in the fair at a stand organized by event company Conceito that also featured Brazilian ceramic tile manufacturing company Cláudio Vogel, wood company Madeireira Tauari, and the Brazilian embassy in Riyadh. Both Cláudio Vogel and Tauari made approximately 80 promising business contacts each during the fair. A large share of visitors at the fair were businessmen, but Saudi Build was also open to the general public.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
