According to José Luiz Dias, president of the Abimóvel, the Emirates were selected because it is a traditional buyer of furniture from Brazil, plus it hosts Index, the leading trade fair for the industry in the Middle East, and is also home to an Apex office.
According to João Araújo Pinto Neto, executive director of the Abimóvel and manager of the Brazilian Furniture project, annual exports of Brazilian furniture total roughly US$ 900 million, less than 1% of global sales by the industry, which has a turnover of approximately US$ 100 billion.
The United Arab Emirates ranks among the ten leading buyers of furniture from Brazil, and accounts for around 10% of the country’s furniture exports. The leading importer of Brazilian furniture is France, followed by the United States.
To increase exports to the Arab country, the project will follow two different lines of action. The first one is to continue participating every year in Index, the largest event for the industry that Brazil attends.
“The fair in Dubai is one of a handful worldwide in which you can find all sorts of furniture, from the most sophisticated to the most popular,” says Neto. “It is the fair in which Brazilians sell the most and enjoy the most success,” he adds.
In the 2009 edition alone, the fair generated revenues of US$ 3 million to the Brazilian companies. Neto explains that the event in Dubai is important not only for Brazilian exports to the Emirates, but to the other Arab countries as well, in addition to eventual sales to Asian and European countries.
The other line of action is to have Arab buyers participate in business roundtables under a buyer project, which consists of bringing foreign importers to events in Brazil. A total of 12 projects of the kind will be implemented throughout the year.
Leather
Brazilian exports of leather doubled in March. The country exported the equivalent of US$ 160.5 million, representing growth of 101% in comparison with the same month of last year.
In the first quarter, sales of the product totaled US$ 395.8 million, representing an increase of 74% in revenues and 32% in shipped volume, compared with the same period of 2009. The data were disclosed by the Confederation of Brazilian Hides and Skins Industries (CICB).
According to the president of the organization, Wolfgang Goerlich, the result points to a resumption of growth in the industry. For this year, the foreign sales projection is US$ 1.8 billion. If confirmed, the figure will represent growth of 60% over last year.
The leading markets for Brazilian leather in the first quarter were Italy, with US$ 96.57 million in imports; China, with US$ 92.36 million; and the United States, with US$ 41.17 million. Year-to-date, Germany, Mexico, Vietnam and South Korea also stood out as target markets for Brazilian exports.
According to the CICB, new markets that increased their leather imports include Singapore, Poland and Malaysia.