Geovana Pagel
The furniture hub of Arapongas, city in the southern Brazilian state of Paraná, caught the attention of Arab importers.
Last week, the entrepreneur
Tritat Khaled was in Brazil to participate in an international business roundtable, which gathered 30 furniture manufacturers from the region and international buyers from 16 countries. As well as the Algerian, visiting Arapongas were buyers from South Africa, Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Cuba, El Salvador, Ecuador, United States, Guatemala, England, Malta, Namibia, Scotland and Uruguay.
As it was a business meeting, some companies settled orders on the spot. The furniture factory Moval, for example, is already adapting its products to the needs of the Algerian importer. ‘Negotiation is well under way. We are already providing the alterations in the bed measures, from 1.40m to 1.60m wide,’ says the exports manager at the company, Adilson Rodrigues.
This isn’t going to be the factory’s first sales to the Middle East. Moval has already participated in two editions of the furniture fair Index, in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, in 2003 and 2005. ‘We have made sporadic exports of closets to the Emirates. Now with the adaptations in the beds I believe we will have greater chances of selling complete sets as these that are going to be sent to Algeria,’ says the manager.
‘We know of the great purchase potential in the Arab market and we hope to increase considerably the business volume already in the next few months,’ states Rodrigues. Moval manufactures 120,000 pieces per month and generates 900 direct jobs in two factory units. Of the total produced, about 15% is exported to more than 30 countries.
This was the fifth edition of the international roundtable in the region and the second one held outside fairs of the furniture sector. During the meeting, the furniture producers also exhibit their products in a showroom, which helps evaluation, on behalf of the buyers, of the characteristics and quality of the products.
The initiative is part of the Projeto Comprador - meaning Buyer’s Project in Portuguese – by the Brazilian Furniture Industry Association (Abimóvel), the Arapongas Furniture Industry Union (Sima), the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex) and the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae) of Paraná.
The idea is to put the furniture makers of the cities of Arapongas, Cambé, Apucarana, Rolândia e Salbádia, which are group-organized, in touch with the international market, expanding business and allowing for improvements in the quality of the furniture to meet the demands in these markets.
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