Africa
represents a huge market for stationery and a host of
enterprising traders in Dubai - and elsewhere in the Gulf
- are busy fulfilling a major slice of this demand. Sourcing
products from North America, Europe, the Middle East and
the Asia Pacific region, they are in a position to supply
the entire gamut of stationery products including writing
instruments, paper products, envelopes, fax rolls, photocopy
paper, markers, staplers, highlighters, sticky tapes,
note pads, drawing instruments and file covers, to mention
just a few.
Dubai
has emerged as a major supplier of stationery and office
automation products and has developed an extensive network
of retailers, wholesalers and stockists with an impressive
track record. According to a recent report issued by the
Emirates Industrial Bank Journal, demand for stationery
and allied paper products has seen a growth of almost
27 per cent in the last two years. A major portion of
the increased imports of stationery products has been
attributed to the increasing demand for these products
in Dubai’s re-export markets, specially the emerging
markets in Africa.
Demand
for stationery products has registered a two-fold increase
in most East African countries because of the increase
in the number of educational institutions as well as commercial
organisations. It is believed that the ongoing economic
liberalisation programmes in most African countries has
resulted in attracting multi-national companies who have
set up their offices in the region - not to mention the
many non-government organisations and UN offices operating
from within Africa. With greater emphasis on education
and vocational training, demand for stationery and related
products has also witnessed a substantial rise. In the
absence of a truly self-reliant manufacturing sector,
most African countries have to depend on overseas imports
to fulfill demands within their own countries. The trend
is to import low-priced goods from nearby countries and
distribute them locally and regionally on a high profit
margin.
In
this respect, Dubai offers itself as a viable and reliable
sourcing centre for a variety of goods and services -
its geographical proximity to the East African coast makes
it an ideal business partner as low freight costs result
in higher profit margins for African importers. Among
the other factors that are responsible for making Dubai's
stationery market such an attractive one for African buyers
- the city has a well-organised chain of retailers and
wholesalers, an excellent sourcing network, a well developed
warehousing and stocking facility and, of course, a reputation
for reliability that has been built over the years. Low
import duties and direct supplies form manufacturers in
the Far East and China have been responsible for keeping
prices in the emirate lower than other markets in the
region.
The
Dubai Connection
WHY
AFRICANS PREFER TO BUY FROM DUBAI
Low prices, easy availability and a highly conducive business
environment have made Dubai an extremely lucrative market
for African buyers who have emerged as major buyers of
stationery products in the recent past. In addition to
the price advantage, African buyers are able to choose
from a wide variety of goods that are available in the
UAE. So whether it is suspended files or rolls of facsimile
paper, one can source virtually every stationery product
from Dubai - and at excellent prices too. “The wholesale
market in Dubai is very active in promoting re-exports
to Africa,” said Aziz Ahmed Karim, Director of Copier
Trading. “African buyers generally buy in bulk from
suppliers in Dubai and then undertake retail selling in
their own countries at a very healthy profit,” he
added.
The biggest advantage in making their bulk purchases from
the UAE, for African buyers, is that they can purchase
just the quantities they require. While theoretically
it is possible for African buyers to source their supplies
directly from manufacturers in the Far East, such orders
would normally be for at least one container load, if
not more. Most African buyers, on the other hand, do not
require the merchandise in such large quantities and are
more comfortable with sourcing smaller quantities of different
commodities from Dubai, stuffing them into one or two
containers and then shipping the goods to their African
destinations. The fact that Dubai has excellent shipping
connections means that African buyers can ship their purchases
to literally any destination on the continent. Thus, not
only do African stationery dealers have in Dubai the ideal
location where they can find all their requirements in
one city but also have the means of transporting it back
home very conveniently and cheaply.
With
the emergence of Africa as one of the major re-export
markets for the United Arab Emirates, many Dubai-based exporters have begun concentrating their marketing
efforts towards the ‘dark continent’. In the
recent past, UAE companies have begun developing direct
contacts in the African market to further boost their
market share in this booming continent and the indication
is that Africa will become an increasingly important destination
for UAE re-exports in the months and years to come.
Exhibitions
and trade fairs have played an important role in promoting
Dubai’s status as a trading centre for Africa. “The
Afro Business Trade Fair held in Kampala, Uganda in December,
1997 helped us to develop a substantial client base in
the East African countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania,”
says A.K. Roy, export sales manager of Bahrain-based Oriental
Printing Press. “It is always a good business tactic
to go to your markets and promote your goods and services
directly instead of waiting for the customers to come
to you,” he opined.
The
forthcoming 3rd Afro Business Trade Fair, being held in
Uganda is being billed as a major showcase of products
from the Gulf countries. “The immense success of
the Afro Business Trade Fair is proof that the African
markets are eager to find serious business partners in
the Gulf countries in order to develop long-term contacts,”
says Dr. Mohammad Ahmad Kisule, Ambassador of Uganda to
Saudi Arabia. “Events like these play an important
role in promoting direct trade and people-to-people contact
- an essential part of Africa’s business ethics,”
he says.
Referring
to the measures being taken by the stationery trade in
the UAE to make even further inroads into African market,
Mohammed A. Basith of Al Hathboor Stationery said that
a number of Dubai traders have appointed distributors
in many African countries, especially in Kenya which has
emerged as one of the leading distribution centres for
the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa, he said. Other countries
that are significant importers of stationery from Dubai
include Uganda, Tanzania, Congo, Eritrea, Sudan, Nigeria
and South Africa.
Industry
experts believe that African markets are extremely price
sensitive and most of the requirements originating from
Africa are for low priced goods - quality being a secondary
consideration. It is for this reason that goods from China,
Korea, Hong Kong and other Far Eastern countries have
been more successful in African markets as compared to
those from Europe.
Stationery
dealers in Dubai, renowned for their business acumen and
foresight, have identified Africa as one of the fastest
growing markets for re-exports and are actively engaged
in promoting their products in African countries like
Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Eritrea, South Africa, Tanzania
and Senegal. Traders and businessmen from these countries
have been purchasing bulk quantities of stationery items
from Dubai not only to meet the increasing demand for
these products in their own countries, but also to meet
the requirements of neighbouring countries as well.
Traders
from Uganda, for instance, have been buying from Dubai
bulk quantities of low-priced exercise books for schools
and distributing the same to nearby countries of Rwanda,
Congo and Tanzania.
The
tremendous growth of UAE's stationery trade has resulted
in the development of a small but significant manufacturing
sector. A number of stationery items like fax, rolls,
exercise books, notepads, box files, computer paper, photocopy
paper, laser printing paper, diaries etc. are now being
manufactured in the UAE itself to meet the increasing
demands for these products.
The
Jebel Ali Free Zone has become a major centre for the
manufacturing and export of stationery products from the
United Arab Emirates. Several companies based in the Jebel
Ali Free Zone have been actively feeding the African markets.
Most of these companies have been vigorously promoting
their brand names in the African markets through their
exclusive dealers and distributors. Speaking about his
experience in the stationery trade with Africa, Ramakant
Sherke, General Manager of Majlan Stationery, said that
it is very profitable to do business with African buyers
because they are generally ‘cash’ customers
and regularly come up with repeat orders. "The market
for stationery products in Africa is growing at a fast
pace and the prospects for the short-term future remain
very bright," he said.
Among
the major destinations for stationery products from the
the UAE to Africa is Kenya which has indeed become a very
important trading partner. The liberalisation of the Kenyan
economy has resulted in a marked increase in products
such as stationery and office supplies. This demand was
earlier being serviced by certain European countries,
especially the United Kingdom, which had enjoyed the status
of being the larger supplier of goods to Kenya for many
years.
The
UAE entered the Kenyan market in a big way by supplying
quality goods at extremely competitive prices to importers in Kenya. Trade ties
between the two countries are specially significant in
light of the fact that both countries enjoy the status
of being the distribution hubs of their respective regions.
Dubai is now the undisputed trade and distribution hub
of the Middle East, whereas Kenya, through its port in
Mombasa, has been servicing trade traffic not only for
many countries on the East coast of Africa but also for
many landlocked countries in the Sub-Saharan African region.
Mushtaq Imran Ali, Director of Al Uloom Stationery LLC,
said that the UAE’s trade with Africa has more than
doubled in the past two years. Stationery being a sizeable
component of this trade, has shown very healthy growth
trends and traders see continued profitability in these
operations.
Another
major destination for stationery products is South Africa,
which has emerged as one of the UAE's leading trading
partners in the region. Though South Africa's links with
the Gulf are not very old, they have gained in prominence,
especially among the business community. After sanctions
were lifted in the early 1990s, South Africa emerged as
one of the most active trading partners of the UAE. Rather
than depend on local sources of supply, African traders
are now turning more and more to the international market
to meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of their
customers. People are no longer satisfied with poor quality
products and are willing to pay good prices for quality
products.
Sourcing
these materials from suppliers in Dubai, makes eminent
sense as the emirate is the trading hub of the entire
region. "Transportation links to all parts of the
globe, low freight rates, wide variety, high quality goods
and very remunerative prices make this the ideal location
for African buyers to procure all their stationery requirements,"
says Dawood, Director of Noor Al Ilm Stationery. Not only
are traders in Dubai able to source quality products at
most competitive prices from virtually all the reputed
international manufacturers, they also have long experience
in the re-export business that make them the ideal partners
for stationery traders from Africa.
