São Paulo – This Wednesday (17th), the secretary of Foreign Trade at the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Tatiana Lacerda Prazeres, said the Brazilian trade surplus in 2012 will be “higher than expected by many.” Year-to-date as of last week, the country had a US$ 17.5 billion surplus, according to the ministry, as against nearly US$ 24 billion in the same period last year.
The latest Focus survey, in which the Central Bank polls the financial market, estimated an US$ 18 billion surplus by the end of the year. In 2011, the yearly surplus stood at US$ 29.8 billion.
Tatiana participated in the seminar “Perspectives in economic relations between Brazil and Arab countries – 60 years of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce,” held by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and newspaper Valor Econômico in São Paulo.
The secretary said that even though Brazilian foreign trade is bearish in 2012, with exports down 4.7% and imports down 1.7%, the sector will have “its second best year, in spite of everything,” with figures second only to those seen in 2011. “Manufactured goods exports prevent a sharper decline,” she said.
She said there is concern over the continuation of the international crisis and its impact on the Brazilian trade balance. “This is a tough year for the country’s foreign trade, most of all due to the crisis, which has driven down the demand from traditional markets,” she said. The decline in prices of iron ore, one of Brazil’s top export commodities, has contributed to push revenues downward.
Considering this scenario, Tatiana stressed the importance of diversifying target countries and export products. To that end, she said the Arab countries are deemed strategic by the government. The secretary said the region’s consumer market is growing. “And tariff barriers are relatively low, they are no impediment to trade,” she stated.
She also said the free trade agreement that the Mercosur signed with Egypt in 2010 will be voted by the National Congress in the months to come. Tatiana said the topic was discussed at the last meeting of the Foreign Trade Chamber (Camex, in the Portuguese acronym), the government’s policymaking agency for the sector.
The Arab Brazilian Chamber president, Salim Taufic Schahin, mentioned that there is a huge potential for Brazil to tap into in trade with the Arab world. He highlighted the attractiveness of the food sector. The Middle East and North Africa have growing populations and are highly concerned with food security.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
