São Paulo – The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce should support the promotion of three Buyer Projects with Arab businessmen at fairs (Fruit & Log, Nova Equipotel and Abras) in September, in São Paulo. The organisation is sponsoring one of the projects and helping in the contact with Arab companies through its Foreign Trade Department. "The intent of these buyer projects is to grant Arab companies the opportunity to learn about the country and the quality of Brazilian products," said the Foreign Trade coordinator at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Francisca Barros.
Early next month, from September 8th to 10th, will come the Buyer Project at the Fruit & Log – the International Fair of Fruit and Derivatives, Technology, Processing and Logistics, at Expo Center Norte. The fair is an initiative of Francal Feiras and of the Brazilian Fruit Institute (Ibraf), run by professionals in the sector.
According to the executive manager at the Ibraf, Valeska de Oliveira, up to yesterday afternoon (25th), 17 foreign buyers had been confirmed from the following countries: Qatar (2), the United Arab Emirates (2), Germany (2), Russia, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (2), South Africa (3) as well as Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. "We are coming up to the event, but it is still possible for foreign buyers to enrol. It is worth recalling that enrolment is free," she said. Brazilian companies interested may also enrol. "They may fill out a form on the site. We are selecting companies according to the profile of the international buyers," said the manager.
New to the country, Fruit & Log was conceived with the mission of attracting the attention of producers, processors, exporters, distributors and importers from all parts of the world. "In the next edition we will pay attention to booking the event outside Ramadan, to attract a greater number of people from the Middle East," she pointed out.
According to her, one of the most important activities of Fruit & Log should be the project roundtables. "Apart from helping identify new suppliers, buyers or trade partners, the meetings are aimed at expanding the export possibility of Brazilian products," he pointed out. There is also the need to promote and stimulate trade and industrial cooperation, the transfer of technology and the creation of mixed corporations between small and medium companies.
Nova Equipotel
The Buyer project of the Nova Equipotel, to take place from September 14th to 17th, should be organized and sponsored by the Arab Brazilian Chamber. The roundtables should take place from the 15th to the 16th, with the presence of buyers from the Emirates, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. Most are already international suppliers of products for luxury hotels, resorts, spas and restaurants.
"It is a very interesting project due to the export objective, as most companies to be present at the fair are exporters," said the commercial director at the Equipotel Group, Marcelo Vital Brazil. "Brazilian businessmen are more and more interested in quality and prices that guarantee competitiveness on the international market," said the director. "I am sure that there will be great success," he added.
According to Vital Brazil, the Equipotel is the main and most complete hotel and gastronomy fair in Latin America. Among the five main fairs in the sector, the event is a fundamental business and networking hub for companies in the hotel, gastronomy, food and tourism sectors. At the fair there may be releases, tendencies, services and technological innovation. This edition should count on 613 exhibitors from around 1,037 companies participating.
"The expectation is to receive 50,000 visitors, approximately 3,000 students in the areas of gastronomy, hotel management, design, nutrition and food engineering," she said. The potential for business generation at the fair is around 3 billion Brazilian reals (US$ 1.6 billion) over the coming 12 months.
Apart from organising the Business Roundtables between Arab and Brazilian businessmen the Arab Brazilian Chamber should participate in the event with a 70 square-metre stand.
Abras
The Buyer Project of the Abras, the Supermarket Association Fair, should take place on September 23rd and 24th, and already has seven Arab companies confirmed for the business roundtables with Brazilian suppliers. The business roundtables are going to take place in the sidelines of the 43rd National Supermarket Convention.
"There are great groups with broad buying power and diversified capital. While they are supermarkets, they are also distributors," said the international manager at Abras, Cláudio Macedo. Confirmed are companies from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. They are going to negotiate directly with around 80 Brazilian companies that are suppliers of food and equipment.
The project takes place in partnership with the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil). The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce is helping contact Arab companies.
Apart from the Arab world, the organisation is also inviting importers from Canada, Angola and Latin-American countries. "Our objective is to have 40 companies from the international market," she said.
Apart from the business roundtables, those participating in the project should make technical visits to Brazilian supermarkets to learn about the operation of shops in the country. Abras should also promote a Seller Project for international exporters interested in supplying food, beverages and equipment to Brazilian chains, with the participation of the main companies in the sector in the supermarket area.
Service
FRUIT & LOG
Site: Expo Center Norte
Date – September 8th to 10th
Time – from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm
Further information : (+55 11) 2226.3161
E- mail : fruit&log@francal.com.br
Site: www.fruitelog.com.br
NOVA EQUIPOTEL
Site: Anhembi
Date: From September 14th to 17th
Time: from 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Further information:
Marketing Department at the Arab Brazilian Chamber
Telephone: (+55 11) 3147.4071/73
E-mail: marketing@ccab.org.br
ABRAS
Site: WTC – São Paulo
Date: September 22nd to 24th
Further information
Site: www.abras.com.br
Telephone: (+55 11) 3838.4500
*Translated by Mark Ament
