Unlocking the Brazilian market

“The only way that the New Zealand economy can expand is by participating actively in the global economy,” says NZTE Director South America Jose Prunello.

“Brazil is currently the eighth biggest economy in the world and cannot be ignored as an active and important player.”

False impressions of Brazil and South America held by some New Zealanders, of a “sleepy and backward” economy, are blinding many businesses to an important market, according to Prunello.

Brazil’s agricultural markets are one of the areas that illustrate both the threats and opportunities it presents to New Zealand. 

Agriculture makes up 6.7 percent of Brazil’s economy – higher than New Zealand’s 4.7 percent - and generates around 36 percent of Brazil’s export earnings.

The importance of agriculture to Brazil’s economy also presents an opportunity for New Zealand if it can feed the country’s appetite for equipment and technologies that enable increased productivity.

Food and beverage is another potentially strong area of opportunity. In 2008, Brazil imported more than US$7.87 billion in food and beverages, representing a 36.28 percent increase compared to the previous year.

The scale of Brazil – the fifth largest country by landmass – also means there is significant demand for telecommunication products and services. With mobile telephone penetration expected to reach 100 percent by 2011, mobile software is another area of strong demand.

While Brazil only ranks as New Zealand’s 37th largest export market (well behind national export volumes to similarly sized economies like Canada and Spain) Brazil has been identified as a key trading and investment partner for some of the world’s largest economies.

According to the ports tracked by World Port Source, exports from the United States to Brazil in 2008 totalled US$16,724,710,520 representing an increase of 48.6 percent compared to 2007.

China’s exports to Brazil grew by 59 percent in 2008 and it has recently announced its intention to invest billions of dollars in the South American country’s port sector.

A Goldman Sachs report also notably identified Brazil as one of four rapidly developing economies that had the potential to outstrip “the richest countries in the world” by 2050.

The 'Rising Global Power' forum, being held at the AUT University Conference Centre on November 17, in Christchurch on 18 November and in Wellington on 19 November, feature speakers with firsthand knowledge of the business opportunities offered by Brazil.