Brasília – Brazil still takes slight advantage of the export potential of Amazonian products, including items highly sought by foreign consumers, such as Brazil nuts and açaí. According to the president of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil), Jorge Viana, trade in goods compatible with sustainable forest use and international acceptance has a potential of USD 150 billion worldwide.
Jorge Viana said the potential is enormous, “but of the approximately USD 334 billion Brazil exported last year, the North accounted for USD 28 billion, of which USD 21 billion came from Pará. Some could say it’s a lot, but it’s little compared to the total USD 334 billion. The same for the Northeast, which exported USD 27 billion,” commented Viana in an interview with canal.gov, which is live streaming the debates of Amazon Dialogues, taking place in Pará.
“Brazil nuts, for instance, are products that, like cereal bars, are available all year round. And that Brazil exports little because it no longer has [specific] policies to [encourage sales of] the product. Bolivia exports around USD 150 million in nuts. Brazil only achieves 10% of that. And while the Ivory Coast exports 2.2 million tonnes of cocoa, Brazil produces around 300,000 tonnes. Here, in the Amazon, USD 100 million in black pepper is exported. Vietnam exports USD 700 million,” added Viana, a forestry engineer who governed Acre, his home state, for two terms, from 1999 to 2007.
Debate
Amazon Dialogues brings together, in Belém, the capital city of the Northern Brazilian state of Pará, thousands of representatives of organizations, social entities, universities, think tanks, research centers, and government agencies to discuss topics such as climate change, sustainability, and economic and social development in the Amazon. It is an event in preparation for the Amazon Summit, which will bring together heads of state from countries in the region from this Tuesday (8) to Wednesday (9).
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
