SIAL Middle East is the highlight of your ANBA Bulletin this Wednesday (12). The food and beverage industry show took place this week in Abu Dhabi, UAE, with a Brazilian pavilion featuring 14 companies. The pavilion was organized by Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture, with backing from the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).

ANBA's Isaura Daniel, who's reporting from Abu Dhabi, reveals that products introduced by two of those companies were finalists for the SIAL Innovation award. They are: pre-shaped tapioca by Da Terra, on offer from AE Negócios Internacionais, and açaí smoothie by Brazilian Habibi (pictured above), a brand owned by ABN8 Trading. Typical ingredients were the stars of the Brazilian stand.

The expo led to immediate deals for some exhibitors, like Marlucia Martire of Trading ALM Brazil. She struck a deal with an Emirati importer to sell a shipping container's worth of black pepper a month for a whole year, and got an order for one container with coffee, cashew nut and Brazil nut from another buyer.

Early on in the expo, while visiting the pavilion, UAE deputy prime minister Bin Zayed Al Nahyan told the Brazilian ambassador to Abu Dhabi, Fernando Igreja, that his country is looking to invest in the agricultural private sector in Brazil.

And even though they are major food importers, Arab countries are also food producers. Dates, cow's and camel's milk, legumes, vegetables, poultry, honey and processed foods are some of the items made by local companies. It's the food that comes from the desert!