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In 2002, Santa Cláudia Bebidas e Concentrados da Amazônia, based in the city of Manaus (capital of the Northern Brazilian state of Amazonas), participated in Algiers International Fair, and brought in their luggage 10 commercial contracts.
At the time, only one sale was closed. Now, the company, which already exports to the Caribbean, Cyprus, and Greece, wants to return to investing in the Arab countries located in North Africa.
According to company foreign trade manager Igor Menezes, in 2005, Santa Cláudia intends to return to trading with Algeria and with the remaining countries in the region.
"We have great interest in the Arab market," he said, adding that the company uses the service of trading companies.
The choice of Algeria as a way for company products to enter the Arab market was not a coincidence, as it is the second largest market in Africa, losing only to Sudan, and is bathed by the Mediterranean.
The company cash cow on the foreign market is guaraná concentrate, made out of guaraná extract and natural fruit scent, which is used in the production of soft drinks.
Guaraná is a fruit of the Amazon region out of which a very popular Brazilian soft drink is made.
Menezes explains that each liter of concentrate makes 850 litres of the drink.
"It seems like an excessively large number, but it is true," he said.
This means that the product has an extremely low cost for drink producers. According to the executive, the price of the concentrate is only a very small fraction of the cost of the final drink.
With a capacity for production of 5,000 liters of concentrate every month, the factory has 274 direct employees and 158 third party service providers.
Santa Cláudia also acts in the sector of mineral water, soft drinks, energy drinks, and juice.
So as to trade its products on the domestic market, the company has 18,000 points of sale in the Northern region of the country.
"In the state of Amazonas alone, there are 15,000 points of sale," explained the manager.
Greater Trade
Nowadays Santa Clara export represents less than 10% of company yearly revenues, around US$ 2.1 million.
In 2005, the factory hopes to increase its foreign trade by between 20% and 25%."
During our participation in Amazon International Fair we made 32 new contacts that should generate US$ 100,000 in business in the first half of next year," declared Menezes.
The 2nd Amazon International Fair (Fiam), an event promoted by the Federal Government to announce the Economic potential of the Brazilian Amazon, took place between September 15 and 18, in Manaus.
Contact
Santa Cláudia
Telephone: (+55 92) 2101-8213
ANBA – Brazil-Arab News Agency
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