Brazilian software export tripled in three years, rising from US$ 100 million in 2002, to US$ 314 million in 2004. The figures are included in a study published Thursday, October 27, by Observatório Digital, the research area of the Society for the Promotion of Excellence in Brazilian Software (Softex).
The objective of the study is to show the profile of Brazilian software export companies and supply subsidies for the formulation of government policies for incentives to the sector.
Together, the 30 largest companies in the sector in Brazil exported the equivalent to US$ 307 million last year, which answers to 97% of the total.
To the secretary of Information Technology Policies of Brazil’s Ministry of Science and Technology, Marcelo Lopes, Observatório Digital will play an important part in supplying incentives to the correction of the routes taken in the Brazilian software policy.
"The sector is a priority in the industrial policy. Since 1993, when Softex was created, Brazil has been trying to make itself an international market," he said.
According to him, the target is to reach US$ 2 billion in exports each year. "The figures shown by the study are very important, as they show that we are still only at the US$ 300 million level, and must advance strongly so as to reach our targets," he added.
The study also shows that 14 large companies and 9 subsidiaries of multinational companies are responsible for 88% of Brazilian software export. Together, these companies generate 21,000 jobs, being 89% permanent.
According to the coordinator of Observatório Digital, Giancarlo Stetanuto, the study also supported the growth of these companies. "They have already moved in the process for insertion on the domestic market, but it is still necessary to create a more definite strategy for entry into this market," he evaluated.
"This will make the companies see that there will be a governmental effort in a specific direction and that, in the next years, they will have incentives and investment."
Lopes added that the definition of the profile of exporters may simplify the adoption of new strategies at the ministry for the sector, among them the stimulation for the birth of new companies.
"Another interesting detail is that Brazil has around 30 companies that total 90% of Brazilian export, which clearly puts the country in a position of need of advancement," he declared.
As an example, he mentioned, India, which, according to him, has more than 600 companies and already exports between US$ 12 and US$ 15 billion a year.
Agência Brasil
