São Paulo – Exporters from Tunisia are looking to sell olive oil and dates in Brazil. Three enterprises from the Arab country will participate this week in the São Paulo Supermarkets Association Fair (the Apas Fair). This Monday (2nd), before heading out to the event, the delegation from the African country had a meeting at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
“Our goal is to learn and figure out the market, and to get in touch with distributors and importers. We want to get the big picture of the Brazilian market, how it buys, what varieties it buys, what countries it imports from. These are our main goals,” said Riadh Attia, the deputy general manager for the Tunisian Export Promotion Center (Cepex).
The delegation was welcomed by the Arab Chamber’s CEO Michel Alaby and Foreign Trade vice president Rubens Hannun, who is also the Tunisian honorary consul to Brazil and the president of the Brazil-Tunisia Business Council on the Brazilian side.
“Tunisia is a mainstay [at the Apas Fair] and it is doing important follow-up work. They are here on missions virtually every year, and that is what makes things happen,” Hannun stressed.
The executive believes promotion is lacking for Tunisian products in Brazil and Brazilian products in Tunisia. “We Brazilians don’t know much about Tunisia, and Tunisia doesn’t know much about Brazil. Information is lacking, image [promotion] is lacking, that is what supports deal-making,” he remarked.
Hassen Dimassi, the regional export manager for Al Jazira, explained that his company makes several types of olive oil, including the organic type, as well as several extra-virgin olive oil varieties. This will be the company’s third straight time at the Apas Fair. “We have exported sporadically [to Brazil] over the past few years. This year, we have good expectations of increasing our foothold in Brazil even further and try to get closer to potential clients,” he said.
Sonia Lakhal, representing Fruit Center, hopes to export dates to Brazil. The company sells different varieties of the fruit. “Our goal is to make a strong entrance in Brazil,” the executive claimed. Fruit Center has exported to Brazil a few years back. Presently, the company, which sells 5,000 tons of dates a year, sells mostly to Morocco, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Africa, Senegal and France.
Naim Boujbel, the market manager for Boudjebel, explained that his company exports over 13,000 tons of dates a year. “Our expectation for Apas is to be able to supply our dates to Brazilian supermarkets, and we hope Brazilians will enjoy our traditional dates,” he said.
According to the executive, Boudjebel has a broker in Brazil and already ships 600 tons a year to the country. The first sale happened approximately four years ago. “We wish to get directly in touch with other distributors in Brazil, especially supermarkets and other brokers, so that we can sell our dates in parts of Brazil other than São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro only,” he said.
On Tuesday (3rd), the Tunisian delegation will attend a meeting at the Brazilian Beverage and Foodstuffs Importers/Exporters Association (ABBA). On Wednesday (4th), the group will visit São Paulo’s farmer’s market Ceagesp, and on Friday (6th) the Tunisians will host a tasting of olive oil and dates for importers, distributors, journalists and opinion-makers.
The Tunisians will be at the Apas Fair in a stand organized by the Arab Chamber, alongside exhibitors from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Tunisia is the world’s biggest olive oil exporting country. In the 2014/2015 crop, the country shipped abroad some 300,000 tons of the product.
Apas Fair
May 2nd to 5th
Where: Expo Center Norte
Rua José Bernardo Pinto, 333 – Vila Guilherme – São Paulo – SP
Dates and hours: May 2nd to 4th from 2pm to 10 pm; May 5th from 1pm to 7pm
Find out more and register at www.feiraapas.com.br
The Arab Chamber stand is located in the White Pavilion (Aisle F/G 11, stand 361)
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
