Geovana Pagel, special envoy
Rio de Janeiro – On the second day of the 34th Expo Abras, an international fair in the supermarket sector, businessmen from Tunisia and Jordan who participated in the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (CCAB) stand closed deals and managed to make good commercial contacts. Sogemco, a producer and exporter of food products belonging to Tunisian group Slama, has made official a representation contract with Brazilian company Iacb Intercrop, based in the city of São Paulo.
"Initial contact had already been made and the fair served to make the representation concrete," stated Cesar Durello, commercial director of Intercrop.
With various businesses in Tunisia and annual revenues of US$ 100 million, Sogemco brought samples of margarine for the food industry, biscuits, cake mixes, ready cakes, and olive oil to the CCAB stand.
According to export manager Houda Slama, the company already sells to some countries in Europe and Canada, but they have decided to bet on Brazil because, according to her, it is a growing market and is "very interesting" for initial prospecting work.
Slama also commented that the second day of the exhibition was much busier than the day the fair opened, Monday. "I came to Expo Abras with the objective of getting to know the real business possibilities and I am sure that I will return with good business contacts," she stated. She will be going home with at least one representation contract signed.
Arak
Drink producer, exporter and importer Zumot Distilleries, from Jordan, is exhibiting wine, gin, vodka, and arak. According to the company export manager, Nahil Khoury, the company that, as is the case with Sogemco, is participating in the Brazilian fair for the first time, came to Expo Abras with the objective of exporting to the country and also importing Brazilian products.
During the event, Khoury will be participating in the Chamber stand, and will also be visiting the stands by other exhibitors. "I am visiting various sectors and have already identified some products that will certainly be well accepted in Jordan, among them biscuits, chocolate, coffee, and wine," she said.
Among the products the manager brought to Brazil, she believes that Arak is the product with greatest chances of sales on the Brazilian market. "I have been met by many of the visitors and feel great receptiveness from the people who taste the drink," she said.
Zumot, which is also interested in finding a local representative, is currently exporting to Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and the United States.
Joint venture
Tahar Boughzala, president of trading company World Negoce – which brought a large variety of dates to the fair – explained that he has a project to develop a partnership, possibly a joint venture, with a Brazilian leather producer.
"My plans are to invest in a factory to produce leather shoes and clothes," he said. He has already estimated the project cost at US$ 600,000.
According to Boughzala, to make it possible, a little investment by the Brazilian partner would be necessary, as would financing by a Tunisian bank. "I am after a serious company interested in betting on a long term partnership," he said.
The most important event in the supermarket sector in Brazil ends tomorrow (16). The forecast is that by the end of the last day, the fair should have received 50,000 visitors and generated over US$ 7 billion in business.
EXPO ABRAS 2004
Time: 01:00 on to 09:00 pm
Location: Rio Centro Exhibition Pavilion – Rio de Janeiro/RJ
Duration: Up to next Thursday (16)
