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\u201cBrazil is country that still doesn\u2019t know much about dates or other dried fruits in general. Everything we don\u2019t produce here, people don\u2019t know,\u201d says businesswomen Julia de Biase, who started working in this market in 2017, importing dates from the United Arab Emirates. The date palms are mainly found in desert places and there are no large-scale plantations in the Brazilian territory.<\/p>\n
According to Biase, the consumption of dates in Brazil is primarily supported by the fitness niche, consumers looking for a balanced diet and enthusiastic about nutrition. She says that the fitness crowd consumes dates as a food supplement. \u201cThey go out of the gym and eat it to curb that crave for sweets,\u201d she says. Biase adds that dates are starting to be used as an ingredient in cakes, bread, baby food. She herself created a brand of a\u00e7a\u00ed-and-date mix.<\/p>\n
Stores selling dates in Brazil are emporiums, natural food stores, as well as markets and large supermarket chains. But Biase believes consumption could go way beyond that if the exporting companies worked to publicize the date as a food. \u201cBrazil is a huge country. As soon as companies start investing in publicity and marketing, consumption will grow a lot,\u201d the businesswoman told ANBA.<\/p>\n
Biase says that people \u2013 including in retail stores \u2013 don\u2019t know about the different varieties of the fruit and their health benefits. \u201cThere are over 180 types of dates only in the Gulf region,\u201d she says. In Brazil, the most popular is medjool, which is big and eaten with strawberries. Biase sells khala and fard dates of the Date Crow brand by UAE-based company Al Foah. \u201cThey are as good or better than medjool,\u201d she said, saying that she went to great lengths to show that to retail stores.<\/p>\n
Atypical year for dates<\/strong><\/p>\n Year-to-date through September, Brazil imported 524 tonnes of dates, and suppliers were Tunisia and Iran. Biase says that the UAE will make the list soon as she is brining a container to the country next week. Last year\u2019s 1,100 tonnes of dates were imported to Brazil from Tunisia, Algeria, Turkey, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and China, according to public figures.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s decline was due to COVID. The dollar appreciation against the real has also impacted as it made imports more expensive. \u201cThe dates you buy and then go to the gym or take a walk are fruits for those who practice sports, but people are staying at home, so they buy hygiene and basic food products,\u201d Biase explains. The businesswoman believes that as soon as the world situation gets back to normal, date sales will go back to previous levels in Brazil. \u201cI\u2019m sure 2021 will be a very welcoming year for this fruit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Translated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\n