The Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade of Brazil has increased the export target for this year to US$ 190 billion. The increase comes after analysis of the sector performance in the first half of the year and evaluation of perspectives for Brazilian products on the foreign market over the next six months.
The revision of the forecast was announced on July 11 by the Ministry's Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex), after analyzing Brazilian sales on the foreign market over the last 12 months (July 2007 to June 2008), which reached US$ 178.080 billion, close to the target announced early this year, when sales for the year were forecasted at around US$ 180 billion.
Over the first six months of this year, Brazilian exports totaled US$ 90.645 billion, growth of 23.8% over sales registered in the same period in 2007 – over half the stipulated target. As sales are traditionally greater in the second half of the year, the Secex has expanded export forecasts.
The Ministry does not make forecasts regarding Brazilian imports. For this reason, the organization does not forecast the trade balance result (exports minus imports). But due to the strong increase of 50.61% in Brazilian purchases of products abroad, which totaled US$ 79.275 billion in the first half - more than double the growth of exports -, private sector analysts heard last week by the Brazilian Central Bank's Focus bulletin, believe that total imports should be around US$ 167 billion.
If forecasts are confirmed, the country should have a trade balance result of around US$ 23 billion, which represents a reduction of 42.5% over the 2007 surplus, which was US$ 40.1 billion.
The result of this surplus reduction should be a US$ 23.5 billion deficit in the current account, which includes all commercial and financial transactions with the foreign market, according to figures presented in the Focus bulletin. This comes after five years back to back in which the current account closed in the black.
Engine Factory
MWM International Motors plans to expand exports by 50% this year. Company revenues with foreign sales should reach US$ 263 million in 2008, mainly due to the entry into new markets like China, India, the United States and Mexico. This information was disclosed by a spokesperson for the company.
The organization is headquartered in Brazil and is a subsidiary of Navistar International, from the United States. The company is the leader in technology and development of diesel engines in Latin America. Last year, exports reached 22,700 vehicles equipped with MWM engines. When adding indirect exports, the figure rises to 51,200 engines on the foreign market, 42% of the total produced in 2007.
"Apart from direct exports that represent 26% of company revenues and go to 30 countries, we are also present in several markets through our clients, who produce their models of vehicles powered by our engines for sales to South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates, among others," explained the Marketing manager at MWM, Roberto Alves dos Santos.
Agrale's recent sale of 70 bus chassis to Sharjah, in the Emirates, will be equipped with MWM Acteon 4.12 TCE engines. Agrale has been an MWM client for 25 years. The buses are in the Midibus line.
Carmaker GM exports sports utilitarian Blazer and the S10 pickup powered by the MWM Sprint 4.07 TCE engines to around 40 countries in several regions, especially to South and Central America, the Andean Pact, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
Volvo sells its VM line of trucks to Latin America powered by the MWM Acteon 4 and 6 cylinder engines. And Volkswagen exports trucks and buses to several countries powered by MWM International.
