Brazil has increased the number of countries that import its products by 13.5% over the last nine years. The destinations for Brazilian sales abroad rose from 207 countries in 1997, to 235 countries last year.
This balance was presented this Tuesday, September 4, by the Foreign Trade Planning and Development director at the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Fábio Martins Faria, during the 120th Encomex, which took place at the offices of the Federation and Center of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp/Ciesp), in São Paulo, southeastern Brazil.
According to the Foreign Trade secretary at the Ministry, Armando Meziat, who also participated in the meeting, the Arabs were also responsible for this growth. In 1997, Brazilian exports to the Arab world totaled US$ 1.7 billion.
Last year, they reached US$ 6.6 billion. Martins Faria stated that Brazil may further expand sales to the region, as the Arabs are great producers of petroleum and great importers of other kinds of products.
Meziat defended this diversification and stated that the more buyers the country has, the more it will be able to discuss prices. "To these new markets the growth has been exceptional as the base for comparison was very small, but we are creating a base of buyers that will grow and guarantee sustainability to Brazilian exports," said the Foreign Trade secretary.
According to Meziat, the growth of Brazilian exports is currently greater to developing countries than to developed nations, and this tendency should persist in the short term.
Martins also disclosed other figures that strengthen Brazilian foreign trade from 1997 to date. The export companies, according to him, rose from around 13,000 in 1997 to 20,500 this year. The products exported rose from 6,600 in 1997 to 7,300 last year, with growth of 11%, and the number of cities that have export companies rose from 1,386 to 1,848.
"There is nothing Brazil produces that some country in the world does not want to buy," stated Martins.
Meziat also presented foreign trade figures and said to the audience, made up mainly of businessmen and professionals in the area, that the Brazilian private sector is showing competence with regard to the expansion of exports.
Brazilian foreign sales totaled US$ 52 billion in 1997. This year, up to August, they have already reached US$ 102.4 billion. The 120th Encomex was promoted to celebrate the ten years of the meeting, which is itinerating and has taken place in different regions of Brazil since 1997, geared at stimulating foreign trade.
The export target stipulated by the government for this year is US$ 155 billion, growth of 13.1% over sales last year. Meziat stated that with this, a US$ 200 billion export target will stop being a dream and may become a target, possibly even for 2008.
Brazilian exports, according to figures disclosed by the secretary, have been growing above the global average. Global exports grew 15.1% in 2006, whereas Brazilian exports grew 16.5% in the period. Transport material, which includes from aircraft to tractors and vehicles, is currently the main Brazilian export product.
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