São Paulo – Unaizah is a Saudi city focused on agribusiness and is also the land of many dates and a site of history and tourism. All of this presents various opportunities for Brazilian entrepreneurs looking towards Saudi Arabia, according to Rafael Solimeo, director of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) office in Dubai, who had an immersive experience in Unaizah in October.
Solimeo traveled to the city in the Al Qassim province at the invitation of the Unaizah Chamber of Commerce, coinciding with the conclusion of the Unaizah International Dates Season, a famous local date festival. “I got to know the city, its economic and leisure activities, and I noticed there are many possibilities for Brazilians, from commercial exchanges to knowledge sharing and tourism,” he says.
The center of Unaizah was developed within an old farm, showcasing a design that combines the modern and traditional elements characteristic of the city. A café and porcelain tile floors share space with an outdoor playground for children, while traditional markets coexist with schools that are references in education. “You see the old and the new—it’s a true reflection of contemporary Saudi Arabia, which, without losing its culture, is modernizing,” reports Solimeo.
Dates are the driving force of the city, especially during the festival, which not only makes deals possible but also attracts tourists to Unaizah. Solimeo reports that the city is known for its high-quality dates, sold not only in Saudi Arabia but also abroad, especially in the Gulf. The fruits produced in the region, showcased at the festival, come in a vast array of sizes, colors, flavors, and textures, according to the director of the office.
The festival revolves around a large auction, where date farming meets technology. Each sample lot of dates, sourced from different Saudi farms, is assessed and receives a QR code that allows interested buyers to access information such as production tracking and the characteristics of the date. During the auction, the dates are showcased on automatic carts along a track, with their QR codes displayed, and can be bid on in large quantities.
Solimeo, who witnessed this process up close, reports that the auction is the main activity of the festival, but there are other attractions related to the local ecosystem of date cultivation at the event. Stands showcase jams, molasses, cakes—all made from dates—as well as other by-products and even crafts derived from the date palm. Baskets made from parts of the date palm and necklaces made from date pits are part of this list, along with leisure activities for visitors to enjoy.
In Unaizah, the director of the ABCC’s office also visited a date production unit, a horticulture project supplied with organic fertilizer in a desert region, a poultry industry, and a feed factory that sources 80% of its raw materials from Brazil, among other enterprises. The poultry company is called Al Watania Poultry. It processes 1 million chickens and produces 1.5 million eggs per day, as part of the Saudi vision to enhance domestic food security.
Opportunities
In this realm, Solimeo outlines many opportunities and possibilities for Brazilians. One of them is in tourism. “It’s incredible to experience Unaizah as a tourist destination. I sat in a luxury café on a farm, enjoyed a coffee that was freshly ground, with milk straight from the cow, and ate fresh dates. It’s a very different experience that’s hard to find elsewhere,” the office director reports, adding that participating in the date festival as a tourist is also a great option.
Solimeo also believes there is room for Brazilians to offer their technology related to agribusiness to the producers in Unaizah. “We can export our knowledge and our machinery, tools, and irrigation equipment. There’re many opportunities for those working within the agribusiness ecosystem to offer tech solutions,” he says. He also highly recommends importing the famous dates from the region to Brazilians. Solimeo also encountered opportunities for the Brazilian footwear industry, having met with a local entrepreneur who imports Brazilian brands.
Unaizah Chamber of Commerce
The experience of getting to know Unaizah and the region’s recent advancements in date production stemmed from a memorandum of understanding signed by the ABCC with the Unaizah Chamber of Commerce during this year’s Gulfood, a food fair held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The idea now is for entrepreneurs from Unaizah to also visit Brazil to see what the country has to offer and to introduce their dates into the Brazilian market, according to Solimeo.
The office director participated as a guest of honor at the closing ceremony of the date festival, known as the Unaizah International Dates Season Festival. On this occasion, he met with the governor of Al Qassim, Prince Faisal bin Mishaal. Among various visits, activities, and meetings, Solimeo was also received by Unaizah Chamber of Commerce of Unaizah Chairman Khaled Al Sikhan and Vice Chairman AbdelRahman Al Kreida, who assisted him in his activities in Unaizah.
