São Paulo – The United Arab Emirates, where the Gulfood show will begin this Sunday (13), is a market with enormous potential for international food and beverage suppliers, including re-exporters. The country imported USD 15.4 billion in products from the sector in 2020 and re-exported almost a quarter, USD 4.1 billion.
Data were presented this Friday (11), in a virtual meeting, to Brazilian companies that will participate in Gulfood in a space organized by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC). The Market Intelligence trainee manager, Marcus Vinícius, informed that, in global trade, the UAE are the second-largest Arab food importer.
In descending order, the countries that buy the most re-export products from the UAE are Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Yemen, Iraq, India, Bahrain, Pakistan, Somalia, Jordan, Afghanistan, Kenya, and the United States. The most re-exported products are nuts, milk & cream, chocolates, alcoholic beverages, citrus fruits, food preparations, nuts, dried vegetables and vegetables, sweets, and apples.
The ABCC executive also reminded Gulfood participants of how promising the UAE’s domestic market is regarding food consumption, not only driven by the native population. “This country has a large niche of international population,” he said, noting there are as many foreigners who live and work in the country as there are those who visit it for tourism. “The opportunities for exporting are immense,” he said.
Marcus also gave other tips to be considered by those interested in selling food and beverages to the UAE, such as the importance of halal certification and the growth of e-commerce sales in the region. The executive presented Brazilian business people with some digital commerce platforms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), such as Souq, Noon, Namshi, and Jumia.
Negotiation
The entrepreneurs also received information to consider when negotiating with the Arabs, such as days of the week, language used, types of meals to be offered, times of commercial transactions, preferred subjects, and forms of contact they favor. According to Marcus, negotiations with the Arabs tend to take longer, but when completed, they prove to be loyal customers.
Practical issues at Gulfood and the rules of this edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic were also a subject of the meeting. This year will be the first time the ABCC will have two spaces at the show, one in the central aisle and the other in the area of proteins. Eight Brazilian companies will participate in the stands organized by the entity: Almina, Golden Agri Resources (Gar), Nutrire, Stefenoni, O Primo Logística, BRF Foods GMBH, Tropicool, and Dinda.
The ABCC’s preparation meeting was attended by the Marketing & Content director Silvana Gomes, New Business director Daniella Leite, Dubai Office head Rafael Solimeo, Institutional Relations director Fernanda Baltazar, senior Events manager Daniela Inoue, among other professionals. The participation of the companies at Gulfood will have the support of the organization’s team in Dubai and some professionals traveling from Brazil, including the secretary-general and CEO of the ABCC, Tamer Mansour.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
