São Paulo – Brazil is losing space as an exporter in worldwide trade of manufactured goods. According to a survey released this Friday (19) by the Industrial Enterprise Development Institute (Iedi) and based on figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the (World Trade Organization (WTO), the country dropped from 27th to 30th among the leading exporters of industrialized goods from 2005 to 2011. Brazil’s share of the segment dropped from 0.85% of the world total to 0.73% during the same period.
As an importer of manufactured goods, however, it is a whole other story. The country climbed from 31st to 21st in the ranking from 2005 to 2011 and the Brazilian share in foreign sales of industrialized goods went from 0.69% to 1.37%. According to Iedi, these changes took place most notably after the 2008 international financial crisis.
In exports as a whole, Brazil went from 23rd to 22nd from 2005 to 2011, as its share rose from 1.13% to 1.4%. In imports, the country climbed from 21st to 28th as its share went from 0.72% to 1.3% during the same period.
“Brazil has only maintained a certain level of exporting dynamics as a result of its primary commodities; however, it has lost positions as an exporter of manufactured goods,” according to a statement released by the Iedi.
According to the organization, this happened for two reasons: “changes in international competition,” as markets became more restricted due to the crisis, with some even encouraging the transfer of part of domestic production to foreign countries; and “domestic factors such as exchange rates and other factors which contribute to the low levels of competitiveness of Brazilian products,” such as high tax burden, cost of capital, and poor infrastructure.
According to the Iedi, the government has been implementing measures to increase industry competitiveness, such as lowering taxes, energy costs, interest rates, and new logistics projects, but claims these measures “must be sustained, because their effects will only come in the medium and long term.”
The list of exporting countries which are above Brazil in the 2011 ranking, according to the WTO, includes two Arab countries: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in the 15th and 20th positions, respectively. It is worth noting that both nations are major oil exporters – by the way, Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest exporter, and in the Emirates, besides the commodity, foreign trade is one of the main economic activities.
In the ranking of leading importing countries, the Emirates rank 25th, and are the only Arab country among the top 30 importers in the world.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
