Source4Less to Bring Full Line of Wood Products to Middle East in Response to post-COVID Construction Trends

Source4Less, the first B2B marketplace dedicated to natural stone and wood products from South America, is set to expand presence in the Middle East with furniture, raw wood and doors. The endeavor comes in part with the rise in residential, home-office and commercial renovations driven by post-COVID construction.

The United Arab Emirates main forestry imports from Brazil include pinewood, lumber, rough timber and plywood. According to Dubai Exports, a significant portion of the imported wood is utilized at the 600 local factories with over Dh 1 billion capital investment, representing about 13% of the country's entire industries. 

Jan Dabrowa, CEO & Founder of Source4Less, said: "These are multi-billion dollar industries that are under-represented in the B2B online sector, with many companies in the Americas lacking the ability to reach out to international clients. Over the past decades, the Brazilian wood and natural stone industries depended mostly on fairs and horizontal commerce to reach global clientele. Source4less is meant to enhance B2B interaction and interconnectedness between suppliers from Latina America and clients worldwide."

In August 2020 Brazil has exported a record of 212.138 tons of natural stone worth USD 106.948.183, with Qatar importing 12.685 kg, according to Sindirochas, in. In April 2020, Brazil exported USD 885.77 million of wood, paper, and cellulose, according to CEPEA. Many commodities from Brazil and Latin America reach the UAE ports before heading onwards to international destinations. 

"Contrary to many expectations, home and interior renovation industry have experienced a significant boom post-COVID pandemic, especially with people anticipating renovations and remodeling interior living space to suit their home office needs. There is a new trend worldwide that requires agile workspaces. This trend has taken a large part of the furniture industry by surprise, including Brazil which is a key producer of furniture in the Americas", added Dabrowa. 

During 2020, most of the international events and fairs in Latin America have been cancelled due to COVID, including furniture, home decor, stone and wood expos. In response, Source4Less is set to lead e-commerce of wood & natural stone products from South America.  

"Strong Dollar and weaker Brazilian Real is driving local exports, with many international importers turning to Brazil for their sourcing needs. According to current economic and monetary projections, the Brazilian currency shall maintain the course until the end of the year, what might give continuity to high flow of exports. With this in mind, the Middle East continues to be a key trading hub, with a large participation of commodity imports from Brazil and other Latin American countries, either destined to the Region or serving as a transport channel destined to Asia and Africa."

The Middle East is a focal market for Brazilian exports especially in the commodity sector. In the first seven months of 2020 exports from Brazil surpassed trade of U$7 billion, a 16,9% increase in relations to the prior year, according to the Market Intelligence Department of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce