Geovana Pagel, special envoy
Rio de Janeiro – The objective of promoting direct sales to Brazil, without intermediaries, is being reached by Arab businessmen participating in the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (CCAB) stand at the international supermarket fair (the 34th Expo Abras) to finish today (16), in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in southeastern Brazil. Lexi Olive Oil, one of the largest Tunisian producers and exporters of olive oil, which has already been selling to Brazil in bulk for two years, has decided to invest in the sale of bottled olive oil and is going to develop a specific package and brand for the Brazilian market.
"The company is going to adapt packages to the standards in the Brazilian legislation and develop a brand exclusively for Brazil," stated Henrique Ferradaes, owner of Fertrade, a company to distribute the product on the domestic market.
According to him, the distribution project should begin in January next year. "We will initially distribute the product in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, also in southeastern Brazil. Later we will try to sell to supermarket chains in the North and Northeast of the country, where most states have large tourism and fishing industries, therefore presenting good demand for the product," he explained.
"Our expectations are good. The product is competitive and the Brazilian market is developing, especially in the A and B classes," he evaluated. Fertrade, based in the city of Rio de Janeiro, has been working in olive oil trade for over 15 years. The company also distributes Moroccan pickles (capers and olives).
Lexi Olive Oil director Abdessalem Loued is also confident in the new business, especially with regard to the bottled olive oil. "On the first time I was in Brazil, (three years ago) I noticed that most of the people did not know olive oil produced in Tunisia," explained Loued.
According to him, the product development phase is already practically complete. "It is now time to invest in packaging adequate for the Brazilian market and in a partnership with a local distributor," he said.
Tunisia is the fourth largest world producer of olive oil, answering to 7% of world production, exporting 96% of its produce to Spain and Italy. Tunisia is also one of the main date producers in the world.
Dates
Tunisian dates are among the products that trading company Lobster, from Rio de Janeiro, intends to import without intermediaries. "I believe that the organization of the CCAB stand with Arab products is a good opportunity for our companies to purchase from new markets, without the interference of intermediaries," stated Giuseppe Talarico, a technician in import and development at Lobster.
The company buys dried fruit, nuts, walnuts, hazel nuts, almonds, olives, and dates from suppliers in the state of São Paulo and distributes to small traders in Rio. In olives alone, the company has a monthly turnover of around US$ 69,000. "If import were direct, we could purchase around US$ 346,000 a month," stated Talarico.
Last day
The most important event in the supermarket sector in Brazil ends today (16), at 09:00 pm at the Riocentro exhibition pavilion. The organization forecast is that the 34th Expo Abras should end having been visited by 50,000 people and with deals totalling around US$ 7 billion.
