Brazil’s recent trade mission to the Middle East was able to close several deals. Rural Trade, for example, a trading company based in the northern state of Pará, has closed a US$ 5 million sale of heads of cattle to an Egyptian distributor.
The deal was lined up during the business roundtables that the delegation attended on April 15, at the Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel, in Cairo. The mission, promoted by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, has been to Iran, Egypt, and Lebanon.
Other companies are also enthused about the results of the business meetings in Cairo. Such is the case of Doimo Brasil, a manufacturer of high-end furniture. According to the company’s foreign trade manager, Guilherme Taveira, who is a member of the delegation, a company that owns four stores is interested in his products.
The Egyptian company’s representative promised to see the Brazilian brand’s furniture in coming days, at High Point, a trade fair for the furniture industry held in the United States from April 17 to 22.
Voges, a maker of low-power electric engines, spoke to Egyptians who are willing to represent the brand in the local market. Finding a partner in the region, preferably a distributor, was one of the company’s objectives in the mission, according to International Business director Rogério Cunha.
According to him, though, engines face strong Chinese competition in the Egyptian market. “We can compete with Europe and the United States, but not with the Chinese,” he says.
Trading company Expansão Comércio also found an interested party in the auto parts that it is offering. One of the companies requested a quotation and liked the pricing, says the trade manager of Expansão Comércio, Stefan Riktsche.
Poliron, which makes copper wire, made several contacts, but according to export manager Solange Gonçalves, the main obstacle to placing products on the Egyptian market is the presence of a local industry in the same field. Freight costs and import taxes make the Brazilian product more expensive.
In Iran
The businessmen in the delegation – 86 in total – were also quite pleased with the contacts made in Iran. It was the case of Poliron itself. “It was great. Chances of us closing a deal are strong,” she claims. She believes that if an export deal is closed, it should be turned to the oil and gas industry.
Automotive equipment company Leone Equipamentos has closed deals worth from US$ 6,000 to US$ 8,000 for tyre calibrators in Iran. The company’s representative in the mission, international manager Vinícius Leone, was very pleased with the contacts made in the Iranian market.
Aside from new possible buyers, he met an old client who even placed an order with the company once, around two years ago, but due to letter of credit issues, the deal did not happen. Now, though, the businessman obtained a letter of credit from a country other than Iran and will be able to make purchases.
Rural Trade also closed a deal in Iran. In addition to the deal closed in Egypt, up until the fourth day of the mission, the company closed US$ 11 million in deals. The Egyptian purchase, however, consists of 4,000 heads of Zebu cattle that will be shipped within 60 days.
The order should involve supplies from approximately 100 cattle farmers in the state of Pará. The representative of Rural Trade, Luis Carlos Porciuncula, is also the international affairs advisor to the Federation of Agriculture of the State of Pará (Faep).
The Egyptian importer of the cattle is Comtrade Corporation. The company’s chairman, Fouad Abdouelezz, attended the roundtables and took Porciuncula on a visit to his enterprise. “I am really impressed with Brazil,” he told, after his contact with the trade mission. The Egyptian stated that he wants to establish long-term relations with Rural Trade.
