São Paulo – Brazilian company South Service Trading plans to significantly increase its business with the Arab market. The trading company is headquartered in the city of Porto Alegre, capital of Rio Grande do Sul state, and operates in exports and imports of sectors like shoes, furniture, wood, metals and mechanical products, food and textiles. But the organisation exports little to the Arabs. “We see much potential in the Arab market, especially in Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Algeria,” said the company business executive, Mauricio Bon de Souza.
The objective of South Service is to expand sales as fast as possible and for such the company aims to count on chambers of commerce, to contact importers and to establish trade partnership with agents in the region. According to Souza, the trading company is immediately available to export products like rice, soy, concentrated juice, as well as capital goods and manufactured products in general. “As a trading company we can operate in a great variety of products and we have a diversified portfolio of suppliers,” said the executive.
Last year, South Service imported US$ 249 million and exported US$ 48.3 million. In the accumulated result for the year up to October, revenues with exports have already exceeded the whole of last year, totalling US$ 52.5 million. The shoe sector answers to 64.8% of the total, furniture, 16.2% , and wood, 13.1%. Plastics and rubber, in turn, answer to 5.2%. Remaining revenues came from other products, like machinery.
Among the main destinations for products packed by South Service on the foreign market are the United States, with 40%, followed by the United Kingdom, with 14%, Chile, with 11%, France, with 7%, Asia, with 5%, Germany, with 5%, Argentina, also 5%, Portugal, 4%, and other countries in Europe, with 2%. The remaining buyers are on other continents.
South Service was established almost 25 years ago by professionals in the financial and banking sectors, and they remain as the main shareholders in the company. The trading company is one of a group of companies with shareholders in common, partially or fully. Despite being separate companies, they are all part of Exicon group, the first company established by the partners.
Exicon is turned to international and domestic mercantile fostering, and it operates in anticipation of dues for business between wholesalers, retailers and consumers. The organisation is associated to the Factors Chain International (FCI) and thus offers payment guarantee in international transactions with exporters. Company Codime operates in the distribution of products imported from Brazil and Exilog is specialized in domestic logistics, warehousing, transport and distribution serves, considering products purchased by companies in the group. South Service manages exports and imports.
Due to this set of services offered, the group also plans to work on international factoring (protection against credit risk) for Brazilian companies that export to the Arab market, according to Souza. The executive does not discard the possibility of opening a branch in the Arab world. “It will depend on the opportunities that arise and the viability,” he said.
The group has 140 employees and plans to continue expanding, as has been the case in recent years. In 2013, Exilog was opened as part of the strategy to expand the group’s operation in cargo movement, logistics, storage and transport.
Contact
South Service
Site: www.southservice.com.br
Telephone: (+55 51) 3393-5302
*Translated by Mark Ament
