Number of Brazil exporters up 60% in 20 years
The number of Brazilian companies negotiating with international markets leaped to 25.4 thousand last year—up 60 percent from 1998’s 15,807 exporting businesses. Considering the value of total exports, the most significant growth was reported among firms selling from $10 million to $50 million overseas—611 in 1998 to 1,373 in 2017, an increase of 124 percent.
The survey was carried out by the Network of International Business Centers, known as Rede CIN, coordinated by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI). In 20 years, Brazil is reported to have become active in 50 new markets and started to export even products it had previously purchased from other countries, like wheat. Such achievements are believed to have made a positive impact on not just the companies, but also the country’s economy.
According to the CNI, the previous periods of recession in Brazil—2001–2002, 2008–2009, and 2014–2017—all of the country’s macro-economic indicators faced setbacks. “Only foreign trade increased in the period,” the confederation said, adding that a number of businesses resorted to international sales during spells of turbulence in the internal market.
Rede CIN
In 2017, Rede CIN received funding from the European Union as part of the AL-Invest program, in order to develop the so-called Rota Global—a new model aimed at providing assistance to companies seeking to go global. During the initiative’s pilot phase, 560 companies received a free diagnosis, which gauged their maturity level for international markets.
Of these 560 companies, 406 were also given business plans suitable for their needs in their efforts to enter foreign markets. The majority of participants are micro and small businesses.
