São Paulo – Brokerage firm Expoente, based in Pelotas, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, wants to increase its rice exports to the Arabs. In May, the company will participate in Brazil Trade Middle East, a project organized by the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex), by which it will attend 46 business roundtables with buyers from Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, Syria and Iran.
In the Middle East, the company already exports to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey. Together, these countries purchased approximately seven tonnes of rice sold by the brokerage firm in 2009. Last year, Expoente exported a total of 20,000 tonnes of rice, generating approximately US$ 12 million in revenues. The leading buyer was Venezuela, but African countries and Canada also rank among the main buyers of rice from Rio Grande do Sul.
According to César Antiqueira, general export manager of Expoente, the Brazilian price is not among the most competitive on the international market, at around US$ 630 per tonne, roughly US$ 100 higher than the prices charged by other countries. Therefore, he says, the company is going to Dubai seeking buyers who want a higher quality product, instead of lower pricing. "The idea is to seek a more selective market and sell the quality of Brazilian rice," claims the manager.
Furthermore, he also expects to gain space for Brazilian rice brands in the Middle East. "The aim is to have these brands break into markets there. The idea of the trip is to strengthen rice brands from Rio Grande do Sul on the Arab market," adds Antiqueira. Besides rice, Expoente is also going to negotiate soy and sugar with the Arabs in Dubai.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
