{"id":174987,"date":"2018-05-11T07:00:47","date_gmt":"2018-05-11T10:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=174987"},"modified":"2019-06-30T12:42:26","modified_gmt":"2019-06-30T15:42:26","slug":"outlook-good-arabs-apas-show-ends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/outlook-good-arabs-apas-show-ends\/","title":{"rendered":"Outlook good for Arabs as APAS Show ends"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 The leading supermarket industry show in South America, APAS Show, ended this Thursday (10) with great expectations for the 25 exhibitors in the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce<\/strong> stand, from Egypt, the UAE, Lebanon, Sudan and Tunisia.<\/p>\n

Sudan\u2019s Khalid Ombada, the CEO with Santos Import & Export Enterprises, said he had meetings over the event\u2019s four days and was in talks with Grupo Vila Ervas, a Brazilian functional food group with nationwide reach. The conglomerate\u2019s director, C\u00e9lio Jos\u00e9, tried out Sudanese hibiscus tea and took away samples of the plant and gum Arabic. He said the deal is all but closed. \u201cI have been working with hibiscus for a very long time now. We work with the dried variety and we also make soluble tea. Khalid is also introducing me to his gum arabic, which we use in our products. We are negotiating, it\u2019s a two-way street,\u201d said Jos\u00e9. According to Ombada, what sets Sudan apart is the fact that its soil is more mineral-rich than Nigeria\u2019s, where hibiscus is also grown.<\/p>\n

Egypt<\/strong><\/p>\n

Egypt\u2019s Special Food Industry International (SFII) already sells olives in Brazil. Its managing director Yomna El Sheridy said this was the company\u2019s first time at the APAS Show. \u201cThis is my second trip to Brazil and my first time at APAS. We already export to S\u00e3o Paulo, Santos and two other Brazilian cities via importers and direct to emporia.\u201d Besides increasing sales to Brazil, she expects to start selling to Uruguay and Argentina as a result of the Mercosur-Egypt free trade agreement.<\/p>\n

To her, the language barrier is the greatest obstacle to do business. Her opinion is shared by her fellow citizen Nihal Said, general director of Kemet for Natural Food, a company specialized in pretzels, snacks and sweets. This is Said\u2019s first visit to South America, and she was surprised with her experience here. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect an expo so large and with this turnover, and it gave the opportunity to get to know the taste of Brazilians for us to adapt our products; we also made many contacts, it was a very positive experience to us,\u201d she said. Kemet exports to over ten countries, among them South Africa, New Zealand and some in the Middle East. \u201cWe met with a supermarket and have another scheduled meeting for tomorrow (Friday, 11); it has been very good, and the Arab Chamber have shown great support.\u201d<\/p>\n