2023-12-25 22:16:50
The United Nations (HIM) released data this month that present Brazil as one of the countries with the highest number of exports in the third quarter of this year, among the main economies in the world. The country’s position drew attention, considering that in the same period the overall result suffered a deficit of 3%. In October, the Brazilian trade balance reached a surplus of more than US$2 billion, according to the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (MDIC). Exports totaled more than US$282 billion, while the trade balance reached around US$80 billion. For Jorge Vianapresident of the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex Brazil), Brazil has advanced in several directions and the numbers can prove it. In an exclusive interview with the Jovem Pan website, the former senator of the Republic stated that the country’s trade balance and exports broke records in 2023 and that Brazil’s return to the international stage demonstrates a new period of expansion. Check out the full interview with Jorge Viana below:
President, what were APEX’s greatest achievements in 2023? We began our new administration with very clear goals of diversifying the origins and destinations of Brazilian exports; to increase attracted investments and promote exports; expand and support the participation of small and medium-sized companies in the export agenda; to promote and achieve gender equity in all settings; to improve our ESG strategy and, thus, make ApexBrasil a true promoter of national sustainable development. We have made a lot of progress in all these directions and the numbers show it. The Brazilian trade balance and exports broke records this year. Until the month of October alone, exports exceeded US$282 billion, while our trade balance reached US$80 billion.
This year, ApexBrasil supported more than 17 thousand companies. Until September, another 3,700 of them exported a value of US$ 102 billion. The numbers show that we are moving in the right direction and that we need to continue moving forward and making things happen. We saw right from the beginning that we need to increase the participation of states in the North and Northeast in Brazilian exports. Despite their great potential, they still export little compared to other regions. To support this regional development, we created the Export More Brazil, which covered 13 Brazilian states that year, promoting 13 different sectors of the economy, in all regions of the country. In this context, we also launched Exporta Mais Amazônia, specifically to promote exports of products that are compatible with the forest.
Which sector in Brazil has gained prominence? Brazil is one of the largest food producers and exporters in the world, with agribusiness being responsible for almost 50% of everything exported in the country in 2022 and will continue to do so in 2023. Therefore, promoting Brazilian agribusiness abroad and attracting Investments for the sector are among the main flags raised by ApexBrasil. Throughout 2023, we signed eight new agreements for sectoral projects linked to the sector and the expectation is that in 2024 the number of agreements in force will increase from 21 to 27. All of them aim to promote the sector in foreign trade and all renewals made and those to come will be premised on ESG pillars.
Therefore, I am certain that we are moving towards development consistent with what the world is demanding. Our search for markets in the global South takes place without compromising trade with traditional partners, as the South-South and North-South axes are complementary. The Brazilian government’s resumption of diplomacy is building bridges through President Lula’s extremely important role in international visits, in the Forums that ApexBrasil organized in Angola, Germany and Saudi Arabia, in addition, of course, to our Pavilion at the COP.
With which countries did Brazil have a rapprochement in foreign trade this year? In 2023, we will promote a meeting with ambassadors and secretaries of Commerce and Agriculture from Brazilian representations in Central American and Caribbean countries. The meeting took place in October in Panama City, with the aim of opening new markets and increasing Brazil’s participation in trade with countries in the region. We were also in Bogotá this year, where we met with Trade Promotion Sectors (SECOMS) and secretaries of Commerce and Agriculture from South American countries. Based on the information and scenarios designed by the ambassadors and attachés of the embassies, the idea is, then, map opportunities and define program and project strategies to collaborate with these commercial relationships country by country.
This is what we will do in 2024. Increasing the presence of Brazilian products, services and investments in our own region is a priority for the new management of ApexBrasil. We are also resuming a strategic partnership with Angola and the entire African continent, in search of good business and development opportunities for everyone. We promoted the Angola Brazil Economic Forum, in August, and it was a success. The meeting brought together more than 160 Brazilian executives from the food, pharmaceutical, aviation and agricultural machinery sectors and around 300 Angolan businesspeople.
What is your assessment of your trip to COP-28? COP 28 helped to reaffirm Brazil’s return to the climate agenda as a protagonist. The worsening of climate conditions took the debates beyond what was expected: at this COP, losses and damages were also discussed, when what was expected was only a discussion about mitigation, adaptation and a fair climate transition. Brazil stood out at this COP with technological solutions in debates on energy transition and bio-sociodiversity, showing the results of actions in favor of sustainability such as, for example, the reduction of more than 49% in deforestation in the Amazon this year.
The movement in our pavilion was incredible, an extraordinary result that ApexBrasil and the Ministry of the Environment, together with other supporters, made happen there in Dubai. There were more than 13 thousand visitors to our Pavilion. There were more than 130 panels and cultural events and more than 600 meetings involving authorities, ministers, private entities and civil society. Along with Sebrae, we also brought Brazilian startups that showed new sustainable solutions. ApexBrasil then helped to build this entire dialogue. It helped show the country’s commitment to a better future for the world. And all of this was preparation for COP30, which will take place in Belém, Pará, in 2025.
What type of investment do you want to attract to Brazil next year? In 2022, Brazil was the third largest global destination for foreign direct investment, and is expected to rise even further. We have all the conditions to resume Brazil’s leading role as a space for attracting investment in the world. The opportunities that the Brazilian market presents are unique for investors and fundamental to leveraging the country’s sustainable development. In the energy area, Brazil has great potential and expertise in sustainable fuels. Brazilian agribusiness is thriving, with great capacity and technological intensity. In the innovation sector, Brazil has 32 “unicorn” companies, which reveals, among other factors, the strength of the domestic market. And, in the infrastructure sector, we have the largest infrastructure portfolio in the world in partnership with the PPI (Investment Partnership Program) and of course, we have the PAC.
No country in the world, during this period, is presenting such a robust investment attraction program as Brazil with this new PAC launched by President Lula. An investment that changes the lives of Brazilians, that creates jobs, that allows public and private partnerships to be established. Aligned with the neo-industrialization policy of the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (MDIC) and the sustainable development agenda, ApexBrasil established four strategic priorities for attracting investments: Energy (solar, wind, hydrogen); Agribusiness (fertilizer, machinery, biofuels, beverages and food); Research and development and innovation (cleantech, health technology, financial technologies, agribusiness technologies); Infrastructure (ports, railway integration, sustainable mining, sanitation, smart cities).
What is the forecast that Brazilian exports should reach during this third term of President Lula? As I said before, the Brazilian trade balance and exports broke records this year. We are going through a new flow of growth, a new period of expansion. Where are we going? For $1 trillion? With Brazil’s return to the international stage and with the growth we are already seeing, this is possible, and we have to work in this direction. Recently, the federal government laid the foundations of the so-called “National Foreign Trade Strategy”. The country’s international insertion, in addition to the work carried out by Brazilian companies, depends on solid guidelines and a targeted commercial policy, bringing predictability and security to the production sector. With strategy and security, and with all the work that the Brazilian government is doing, I have no doubt that we will grow even more.
What APEX projects can we expect next year? We will continue to act in accordance with our goals and priorities, to diversify the origins and destinations of exports, to increase female participation in the international market, to promote sustainable development, among others. So we are going to take Exporta Mais Brasil to all Brazilian states, promoting new sectors of the economy, bringing more international buyers to see our production and the potential of our products and our companies up close; Exporta Mais Amazônia will also grow and will show that it is possible to develop without harming the forest, on the contrary, that economic development can and should incorporate sustainability; the Women and International Business Program, which we launched in June, will continue to work firmly with projects in partnership with government entities and other organizations, as we believe in gender equality as a promoter of the country’s economic and social development; We will continue to seek to increase the number of companies supported at international fairs, which are true gateways and opportunities to show the world the best we have – this year we took to the websummit and Anuga, for example, the largest delegation of companies national. In 2024, therefore, ApexBrasil will continue its efforts to become a true promoter of national sustainable development.
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