The series of Foreign Trade Encounters, held for the 106th time last Thursday, May 25, in Niterói, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has contributed to the growing evolution of Brazilian exports, in the assessment of Armando Meziat, secretary of Foreign Trade in the Brazilian Ministry of Development.
"When we met for the first time, in 1997, Brazil exported only 5% of what it produced, and transactions were concentrated in certain regions of the country," Maziat observed, adding that "nowadays this percentage has increased to over 10% of domestic production, and the items that are traded are more diversified."
According to the secretary, the volume of Brazilian exports, although small in comparison with other emerging countries, such as China, doubled in the last three years.
Brazil, which averages US$ 20 billion a month in trade flows, including exports and imports, currently ranks 23rd among the world’s largest exporters. The goal for this year, he said, is to raise the monthly value of trade flows to US$ 30 billion.
ABr