Arabs discuss medical equipment purchases

Buyers from Sudan and the United Arab Emirates took part this week in a business matchmaking event held by the organization of the Hospitalar fair.
São Paulo – The business matchmaking event organized by the fair of medical products and equipments Hospitalar should produce deals between Brazilian exhibitors and Arab clients. Companies from Sudan and the United Arab Emirates were invited to attend the meeting that ended this Thursday (21st) and was organized by the project Brazilian Health Devices, a partnership between the Brazilian Association of Industries of Medical, Dental, Hospital and Laboratory Equipment (Abimo) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil). The fair runs until this Friday (22nd) at Expo Center Norte, in the city of São Paulo.
The manager of the Medical Department of Rasd Technology, from Sudan, Mona Eisa Yagoub, should place orders with two Brazilian companies. One of them manufactures incubators and neonatal equipment. The other one manufactures ventilators.
“We need solutions to better serve our population. Before, we used to buy from the United States and Germany, later, from China and India, but these are not good products. I already knew the Brazilian products, which have good price and good quality. I visited two plants from Brazilian companies and we should close a deal very soon”, she said.
Yagoub also said that there’s space for partnerships between Sudan and Brazil in the medical area, in line with what Turkey does in North Africa when building and managing hospitals. “We don’t have any plants, need doctors and there are partnership opportunities, besides the existence of a market [for medical products]”, she said.
General director of the scientific bureau Ashur, a company that represents other companies in Iraq, Mustafa Ibraheem said that there are opportunities for the Brazilian products in the Arab country and that he intends to place orders with some of the companies with which he met in the fair. The products Ibraheem discussed buying in the event include furniture for medical environments and equipment for surgery.
“The budget destined for healthcare in Iraq stood at US$ 4.5 billion per year, but with the recent clashes this amount dropped. However, if the Brazilian companies wish to gain market share in Iraq, they must work in a partnership with the government. There are still opportunities for the Brazilian products in the markets of Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Jordan”, he said.
Ibraheem also buys medical products in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, but he said that the market has standards and requirements that some Brazilian companies don’t meet. The same challenge was pointed out by Yagoub, from Sudan. Despite presenting a quality very close to those of their European and Turkish competitors, some Brazilian products still don’t have the required certificate to be sold in the markets of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait.
Foreign Trade manager at Apramed, Joe Correa presented to the Arab buyers eye-care products and said to ANBA that there are chances of doing more business with the Arabs, since the company already exports to Saudi Arabia and Iraq. “We have all the certifications, which helps a lot. We already export to the region and I think we could have good results”, he said. However, he pointed out that to export products in this sector requires a good initial investment and relationship with the foreign partner.

Author: Marcos Carrieri
Source: Brazil-Arab News Agency / Brazilian Pharma Solutions

Service
Hospitalar Fair
Until May 22nd, from noon to 9 PM
Expo Center Norte, Rua José Bernardo Pinto, 333, Vila Guilherme, São Paulo, SP
Further information: http://www.hospitalar.com/english/index.html
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani