São Paulo – Businessmen and investors who were in Brazil during the World Cup this year, invited by the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), will do business amounting to US$ 6 billion with Brazilian companies in the next twelve months. The project brought to Brazil, between June and July, 2,836 businessmen, investors and foreign opinion makers, from those 81 were Arabs. They engaged in matchmaking, got to know companies and watched the matches.
“The delight of the guests, including the Arabs, was very positive,” says the Relationship Marketing manager at Apex-Brasil, Jacy Braga. There were 104 participating countries, including 15 Arab nations.
The manager says that the majority of the participants came from nations which are already leading markets for Brazilian products, such as the United States, Latin American and European countries. “But the participation of new markets such as the Arabs was very important for the Apex-Brasil and for the Brazilian companies,” Braga told ANBA in an interview. The fact that Qatar will host the World Cup in 2022, according to him, helped bring together Brazilians and Arabs who attended the project.
The Arab importers invited by the Apex to visit Brazil represented 18 sectors: medical and dental equipment, personal hygiene products, toiletries and perfumery, ceramics and ceramic tiles, pharma chemicals, marble and granite, agricultural machines and equipment, foodstuff, shoe industry, chocolates and chocolate products, fruit and juices, non-ferrous metals, textiles, rubber industry, alcohol industry, dairy and dairy products, rice, defense and multi sector companies, segment which comprises the trading companies.
The World Cup project had the participation of 708 Brazilian companies from 18 estates and 837 separate business schedules were carried out – i.e. sets of appointments to be kept by the international visitors for the duration of the tournament – according to the Apex-Brasil. All of the 64 matches were watched by the foreigners invited by the organization. The best results came from housing and construction, machinery and equipment, foodstuff, beverages and agribusiness, health technology, and also fashion and services. From the Brazilian companies which participated in the program, 70% said sales increased and 30% entered in new markets.
The foreigners’ perception of Brazil and Brazilian production also improved. The Apex-Brasil enquired them before the trip and by the end of it about how they felt about the country. The answers “high” and “very high” increased from 83% to 90% on the question about the quality of the Brazilian products and services, from 65% to 81% about the creativity and innovation of the products and from 77% to 90% about the professionalism of Brazilian businessmen.
Braga also mentions that the project was focused on the business schedules and also on image building.
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça
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