Brazilian leather and footwear component suppliers secured deals worth US$500,000 at the recent Meet in Africa fair held recently in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cairo.

"We signed sales agreements for twelve containers of components. They were mainly for leather, leatherboard, PU and rubber soles as well as various kinds of components for safety footwear while, during the whole of 2005, Egypt purchased just twenty containers of components for men's and ladies' shoes worth US$800,000," said Daniel Schnorr, consultant for the Brazilian Association of Manufacturers of Components for Leather, Footwear and Leathergoods (Assintecal) who attended  the event.

The Brazilian companies exhibiting at Meet in <st1:place w:st="on">Africa included Recouro, Boxflex, Formas Kunz, Fibracouro, Termotextil, Inbrape, Amapá, A Tonal, Matrizaria Polako, Uniflex, Escowal, Cipatex and DT Pregos.

Brazilian companies also exhibited new technology at the show including assembly and sewing machinery as well as laser cutting equipment. "We felt that the African market in general lacked the right type of equipment for the shoe industry which <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:country-region> can offer, so we decided to introduce it at this fair," he said.