The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) in collaboration with the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association (ABIEC) recently hosted the second edition of the Arab Halal Day, held on the sidelines of Anuga, the world’s largest and most important trade fair for food and beverages in Cologne, Germany.

More than a tonne of halal-certified Brazilian beef barbeques were served at a makeshift mezzanine restaurant atop ABIEC’s stand at the food expo as part of a welcome gesture to more than 300 Arab buyers and visitors at the event, said a statement from ABCC.

Arab Halal Day is a special event launched by ABCC and ABIEC in 2016 at the SIAL food show in Paris to highlight Brazil’s robust trade relationship with Arab countries particularly in the promotion of certified halal beef products.

Arab countries are one of Brazil’s biggest export markets for certified halal beef products. The event was also aimed at promoting halal food products, not only within Arab countries but in global markets where halal food products are increasingly sought by customers. The barbecue event successfully attracted thousands of visitors to the ABIEC stand.

Rubens Hannun, president, ABCC, said: “The second edition of the event in Germany is testament to Brazil’s long-standing trade relationship with the Arab World.”

“The Arab halal market is undoubtedly strong and ABCC continuously supports Arab countries in their initiatives when it comes to promoting halal food to reach out to new markets,” he said.

“The event is an ideal platform to promote certified halal beef products and attract thousands of Arab distributors and buyers across Europe and beyond,” he added.

From January to September, Brazil exported to the Arab world a total of $728.85 million. Brazil exported mainly to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Algeria, Lebanon and Jordan.

Hannun continued: “The phenomenal success of our inaugural event at SIAL in Paris last year has prompted us to hold the Arab Halal Day once again, now here in Cologne, Germany to continue bringing together the Arab business community under one roof to celebrate as well as network for new business opportunities.”

“As one of the largest food trade in the world, Anuga has almost 160,000 visitors from 192 countries and this spells a fantastic opportunity for Arab markets to expand their innovative halal brands, particularly beef products,” he said.

“We look forward to witness another successful Arab Halal Day event in other global trade events in the coming years,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service