Rio de Janeiro – Supporting exports through further financing and fighting protectionism in order to counter the foreign crisis are consensual needs for the countries that integrate the Business Council of Latin America (Ceal), said to Agência Brasil the president of the organisation’s directory in Brazil, former minister of Agriculture Marcus Vinicius Pratini de Moraes.
Pratini asserted that the countries are going to work hard to reduce protectionism, “especially concerning restrictions to market access.” As an example, he cited the Chilean and European restrictions on meat imports. He said that besides meat, the restrictions concern products exported from South America, such as fruit and flowers.
“There is somewhat of a consensus surrounding the notion that development of international trade is an extremely important tool for beating the financial crisis. Thus, mechanisms are required in order to fund said trade and, secondly, market access must be ensured by means of fighting protectionism,” he stated.
Yesterday (16th), 70 businessmen from the 18 member countries of Ceal attended the first meeting of the Brazilian chapter, held in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
The businessmen visited the Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras and then met with the president of the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), Luciano Coutinho, who presented the lines of financing made available by the institution, as well as its operations in Latin America, where it backs up projects turned to integration between countries in the region. According to Pratini, the president of the BNDES said that the institution is open to new "cross-border" operations, that is, between countries located in the region.
According to the president of Ceal/Brazil, the businessmen showed interest in the BNDES’ loan conditions and invited Coutinho to give a presentation in Central America, in the near future, about the process of internationalisation of the institution’s operations, “which encourage further integration of Latin America.” The businessmen also said that it is important for the BNDES to increase export financing for Brazilian and Latin companies, “particularly because the private system falls way short of fulfilling the needs,” informed Pratini.
The group from the Ceal also visited businessman Eike Batista, owner of the EBX group. Today (17th), the businessmen are going to hold the annual meeting of the Council. The aim is to outline strategies for the agribusiness, automotive, telecommunication and foodstuffs fields, among others, so as to expand the economy of the group’s member countries, and thus fight the international crisis.
The meeting should be attended by the international president of the Ceal, Jorge Zablah; the president of vehicle manufacturer Fiat in Argentina, Cristiano Rattazzi; and the chairman of the Board at food company Sadia, former minister Luiz Fernando Furlan.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
