The meeting will be held at the Arab Chamber Space, at the Chamber offices in the capital of the southeastern Brazilian state of São Paulo, and will be aimed at providing information to Brazilian companies about the markets in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, countries that will be visited by the delegation. The mission will be in the region from May 28 until June 05 this year.
At the meeting, according to the president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Antonio Sarkis Jr., who will open the meeting, existing business opportunities in the three Arab nations will be shown to Brazilian businessmen.
Together, the countries to be visited account for a consumer market of 116.2 million people, and their economies grow at higher averages than that of the world economy.
Egypt grew 6.8% last year, Morocco grew 6.7% and Tunisia grew 4.9%, whereas the global percentage stood at 3.9%. Professionals of the Chamber and also of Apex are going to talk about this potential during the meeting.
In each of the countries to be visited, a conference will be given – introducing the local market -, business roundtables will be held with potential importers in the region, and visits will be made to industrial centers and to local retail stores. The conference lecturers will be leaders in each country.
In the business roundtables, the goal is to generate sales for Brazilians, and also to make contacts with possible trade partners. Visits to the stores will provide Brazilians with a notion of the prices in effect, and of the quality of products sold in each country.
"We want the businessmen to see how the countries are fairing in each sector," said the operations manager at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Rodrigo Solano.
The mission has a limited number of participants. The most promising sectors regarding exports to those three countries, according to a survey conducted by the Chamber, are those of foodstuffs, such as meat, poultry, sweets, hard candy, and biscuits, medical equipment and components for medication, shoe products, fruit juices, agricultural machinery, bakery equipments, air conditioning, cosmetics and stones and facing for construction.
"The food sector is among those in which Brazil has the strongest presence in Northern Africa. This may open up market space for new companies in the field," Solano stated.
In addition to selling on the local market, Brazilians can also reach, through trade partners in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, other Arab countries, European nations, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The region has, for instance, shoe industries that can buy components from Brazil, and then sell the end products to other countries.
Egypt also has a developed pharmaceutical industry, and needs components for medication. Tunisia, according to the Marketing manager at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Meire Raquel Jorge, is interested in getting to know the generic medications manufactured in Brazil.
The meeting at the Chamber will be held from 2:00 pm until 5:00 pm. Businessmen and associations interested in participating may enroll via email: marketing@ccab.org.br until March 28. Doubts may be clarified with the Marketing Department at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce: telephone (+55 11) 3283-4066, extension 4092.
Anba