In the evaluation of specialists heard by ANBA, the increase in the volume of dollar reserves guarantees the country the possibility of paying its bills. Brazil should end the year with a trade balance surplus of US$ 32 billion in foreign trade. In the case of the Brazilian GDP, it should end the year of 2004 having growth of 4.4%, due to the foreign trade performance and to the improvement of employment and income levels in Brazil.
Author: Mark Ament
Vancox, from Minas Gerais, for example, sold 16 pieces yesterday at the opening of the 13th Jewellery Arabia. In all, 10 Brazilian companies are participating in the event, which has the support of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (CCAB). Orders were also placed to companies Fiamma and Manoel Nogueira, and the prime minister of the Arab country, Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa visited the Brazilian stand.
In the first nine months of 2004, Brazilian export to the region has totalled US$ 3.014 billion, import US$ 2.829 billion, and bilateral trade has reached US$ 5.843 billion. In the whole of last year, shipping generated US$ 2.759 billion and purchases US$ 2.705 billion. Both the export volume and bilateral trade are historic records.
In all, 35 companies from the country participated in the largest furniture fair in the Middle East, organized in Dubai from the 22nd to the 26th of September. The Brazilian pavilion was visited by around 3,000 visitors and a total of 1,068 business contacts were made. Americanflex, from the city of Ribeirão Preto, in southeastern Brazil, was one of the highlights, having received orders for US$ 2 million worth of products.
During the 6th Ambassador Meeting which took place in Porto Alegre, capital of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, governor Germano Rigotto stated that protectionism distorts the foreign market. Countries like Brazil and Egypt are harmed by agricultural subsidies supplied by the United States and European Union. He also stated that trade is an instrument for integration.
The event about the semiarid and management of hydric resources, which started yesterday, in Fortaleza, is going to identify areas for cooperation between both regions in which there may be development of new techniques and products. Representatives from 14 countries are participating in the event, and the result will serve to establish the schedule for the summit between Arab and South American heads of state scheduled for 2005.
The company already exports on average 15,000 tonnes of chicken to the region every month, around 40% of total exports. Yesterday the company main plant, in the city of Montenegro, close to Rio Grande do Sul state capital Porto Alegre, was visited by the group of Arab ambassadors who are in the state. The meeting should generate a series of new deals.
Between January and August, shipping from the state to the Middle East and North Africa has already generated US$ 337 million, against US$ 184 million in the same period last year. The intention of the government and of local companies is to further increase this trade. This is so true that Thursday this week there will be, in state capital Porto Alegre, a meeting between 11 Arab ambassadors and businessmen from the state.
If confirmed, the value should represent a 30% increase with regard to last year. The Brazilian export profile has started changing with greater participation of flowers in the trade balance, with the development of production poles, and with the diversification of destinations. The Arabs are among the main markets to be prospected in the near future.
The partnership between the Libyan government and the Pedro Afonso Agricultural Cooperative (Coapa) is being negotiated by the state government and by the embassy of the Arab country in Brazil, and should be completed by the end of next year. The industry, to produce ground soy, soy oil, and fertilizers, should occupy an area of 300,000 square metres and employ 2,500 people.
The event, idealized by Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will take place in either Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo, both in southeastern Brazil. Before the summit, there should be a preparatory meeting in Morocco. This decision was taken yesterday at a meeting between ministers of Foreign Relations of both blocs, in the sidelines of the United Nations Assembly General in New York.
Industry Americanflex sold eight containers of mattresses and furniture and decoration producer Antiqua has already sold all the products exhibited at Index. The first day of the largest furniture and decoration fair in the Middle East, to go on up to Sunday, made it possible for the 35 Brazilian companies exhibiting in Dubai to establish around 500 new contacts.
In all, 35 Brazilian companies are going to exhibit in a 500 square-meter space at Index, the main event in the sector in the Middle East. The mission is organized by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and by the Brazilian Export Promotion Agency. Present at the event will be businessmen from the state of Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo, and Minas Gerais.
Company sales to the Middle East and North Africa rose after they started prospecting the market, around one year ago. Most of the purchases in the region are made for Ramadan. Garoto produces 30,000 tonnes of chocolate a year and exports 30% of production to over 50 countries.
