Bruna Garcia Fonseca
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Dubai – The 25th edition of Gulfood, the Middle East’s premier food and beverage industry show, began this Monday (16) at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce’s stand features eight companies – Açaí Amazonas, NP Zanchetta Cerealista, Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), Dinda, O Primo Logística, Agrícola Ferrari, Aqua Amazon, and Royal Queen Açaí.
Açaí Amazonas international business manager João Cláudio Gil is representing Açaí Amazonas at Gulfood. The company is present in 10 different companies, including the United States, Europe, Asia and Saudi Arabia – it’s halal-certified by Cdial Halal to sell to Arab countries.
The company’s goal is on selling 100% pure açaí, according to Gil. “Our açaí is pure, sugar-free, and we’re one of a handful of companies on the market that are selling açaí powder via refraction window – which retains flavor,” said the executive.
Because it’s completely unadulterated, the product also gets sold as an ingredient to other companies, which add guarana or date syrup to it – like Royal Queen Açaí, which is also putting out its product at the Arab Chamber’s stand.
Açaí Amazonas’ is at the trade show to branch out across the whole Gulf. “It’s an interest fruit, it suits the weather here,” said Gil.
According to Gil, his Saudi Arabian client will make a visit to the stand. “It’s an excellent show. We hope it will yield great results,” he said. The company has been in Brazil 14 years, and it has been exporting for two years. It exports 20% of its output, and Gil said he plans to bring that up to 40% by 2021.
Cereal company NP Zanchetta Cerealista carries raw skinless peanuts and peanut oil. On the market for 30 years, it became and exporter two years ago, and it ships product to 20-plus countries – including Argelia, Russia, South Africa, Australia, Mexico, etc. It attended Gulfood as a visitor last year; now, it’s an exhibitor out of the Arab Chamber stand. “This is our first time showing our product on the international market. Our goal is to showcase our brand, to meet our clients, and to find new contacts,” said partner and co-owner Caique Zanchetta.
Felipe Ferraz had been to the Gulfood show last year representing the RCMA Group, formerly active in Europe only, which got bought over by the Singapore-based Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) in a a bid to ship sugar to other countries. The goal at the trade show is to find new clients and expand, in the Arab countries and worldwide. “We want to grow in sales volume and in new markets,” said Ferraz.
Company Agrícola Ferrari specializes in selling sesame and popcorn kernels. According to salesman Bernardo Sele, it ships product to 30-plus countries – including Arab ones, like Egypt and the UAE. “This is an international show. We joined Apex-Brasil’s (the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) grain pavilion last year, but they really downsized it this year, so we joined the Arab Chamber to get contracts and find new clients,” he said.
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Staple foods brand Dinda offers items including rice, flour and canned tuna. It plans on selling to developing countries across Africa, the Middle East and the Americas. “We already sell to import-dependnet countries which do not grow product locally, like Angola, Cape Verde, Venezuela, and Paraguay. Now, we want to break into new markets in the Arab countries, Asia, and Africa,” said exports director Marcelo Turri.
The company is owned by the Cotia Atlas group, which has also brought healthy products – like cassava and sweet potato chips, chocolate, and soy spaghetti – targeting more developed markets. “We want to sell healthy items in Arab countries, Asia and all over the world, for people who care about eating healthy – sugar-fee, gluten-free, organic,” said Turri.
Primo Logística has joined the Arab Chamber stand at Gulfood for the third time this year. Sales director Augusto Ferraiol told ANBA that the Arab market is crucial for the company. “It’s our second or third biggest market. It’s a niche we cannot afford to lose,” he said. A logistics company handling beef, poultry, orange juice, fresh fruit, grain, etc., it has been on the Arab market for six years, in countries like Libya, Morocco, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
“I believe we’ll see less visitors this year because of the Coronavirus, but we’ll have more time for our clients, so we can get better results. Less volume and more quality,” said Ferraiol. The director said he’d like to strengthen the company’s status as the biggest food freight forwarder in Brazil.
Organized by Apex-Brasil the Brazilian pavilion at the fair was launched by Brazil’s ambassador to Abu Dhabi, Fernando Igreja, and by Apex-Brasil’s president Sergio Segovia. The Arab Brazilian Chamber’s secretary-general Tamer Mansour is also attending Gulfood.
“Even though Dubai hosts numerous fairs each year, Gulfood is special. Brazil always makes its presence felt, and it’s always a pleasure to see all these foreign trade-believing companies flock to Dubai. I’m sure they’ll reach great deals,” ambassador Igreja said.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
Bruna Garcia/ANBA
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