São Paulo – Demand in Arab countries for Brazilian products is going up amid the pandemic, including for fruit. Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce president Rubens Hannun (pictured above) discussed this during a live stream hosted on the Instagram of the Global Council of Sales Marketing (GCSM)’s The Winner magazine this Thursday (28).
“Demand for Brazilian fruit is soaring. They are looking to buy our citrus, of which we used to sell very little in the past,” said Hannun, according to whom many new opportunities to supply products to the Arab countries are becoming available, particularly but not exclusively for food products.
During the live stream hosted by GCSM chair Agostinho Turbian, Hannun said food security is a concern in Arab countries, and they are stocking up more food due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Arab countries rely on imports to meet their food needs, since largescale domestic production is impossible due to climate conditions.
The Arab Chamber has even created a trade committee to identify the needs of Arab markets throughout the pandemic, and to find prospective suppliers in Brazil. The goal is to increase the availability of suppliers and products supplied. “Now, with Covid-19, they realized they cannot afford not to buy from Brazil,” said Hannun.
According to him, despite a pre-pandemic drive to encourage domestic food production in Arab countries, there will be endless opportunities for Brazil to supply new products, as well as products and services to meet the needs of Arab industrial projects, including equipment and even expertise.
During the live stream, Hannun discussed the potential of the Arab market, with 400 million people, plus markets to which Arab countries reexport, coming out to a total of 2 billion people. He also went over Brazil’s expertise as a supplier of halal products both to Arab countries and to Muslim or even non-Muslim nations, which are the biggest halal consumers. Halal products are made in accordance with the rules of Islam, which concern mostly hygiene and sanitation.
Hannun also said a strategic plan will be outlined by the Chamber in tandem with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture to ensure supplies are available to Arab countries, as well as to create direct shipping lanes connecting Brazil and the Arab countries. He also mentioned the inception of the ABCC Lab, a laboratory for startup businesses with projects involving Brazil and the Arab countries which the Chamber is currently working on.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
