Brasília – The FIFA World Cup should do little to help Brazilian exports. With less working days, output will diminish, and the tournament will also cause delayed shipping and lower foreign sales in June and July. According to professor Paulo Pacheco, a Foreign Trade specialist at college Ibmec, the impact will be short-lived. Following the championship, there tends to be a compensatory movement, with above-average sales early on in the second half.
According to Pacheco, the only event that could be immediately detrimental would be if Brazilian ports were to stop functioning during the Cup, which will not be the case. However, the professor admonishes that the World Cup will harm foreign sales in yet another way. Due to the reduced number of working days, industry output will decline in this month and the next, causing a decline in the surplus available for export.
Despite the slower economic activity and delayed shipments, the World Cup creates opportunities to Brazilian companies. In São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Brasília and Fortaleza, the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) will set up stands to sell Brazilian products to foreign businessmen coming in for the Cup.
And foreigners will not travel to Brazil solely to attend the matches. Invited by local Apex-Brasil partner companies, the visitors will stay from four days to a week in each city. They will pay visits to enterprises and attend business meetings.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
