Products in Brazil

The Introduction of Imported Products

Before 1990, imported products in Brazil were almost nonexistent. The Brazilian government was protective in the sense that they limited quotes and high taxes to deter the importing of goods. Former ex-president, Fernando Collor de Mello, changed this when he decided to break importing barrier. Decreasing the standard importing taxes and getting rid of many limiting quotes made this possible.

Despite it becoming simpler to import products, many companies still have to deal with difficulties when bringing their products to Brazil. Importers face complicated taxes and charges that drastically raise the cost of importing products into Brazil. Most frequently, taxes (federal and state) and other various charges will add roughly 100% to the cost of importing. This is mainly dependent on the type of product and where the final destination is for the product.

The Importance of Agriculture

Agriculture is a major sector of the Brazilian economy. It is vital for Brazil’s economic growth and foreign exchange. Agriculture makes up for roughly 6% of the GDP (25% when including agribusiness) and 36% of Brazilian exports. In 2009, Brazil had a positive agricultural trade balance of $55 billion.

Brazil produces the largest amount of sugarcane, coffee, tropical fruits, frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) in the world. The country also has the biggest commercial cattle herd in the world (50% larger the U.S.) at 170 million heads. Brazil is also a main producer of soybeans (second to the United States), corn, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, and forest products. The rest of the agricultural output is in the livestock sector. This mostly includes the production of beef and poultry (second to the United States), pork, milk, and seafood.

Sustainable Growth

Portugal discovered Brazil in 1500. It took until 1808 for Brazil to attain a permit from the Portuguese colonial government to set up its first factories and manufacturers. Brazil achieved the title of the 8th largest economy in the world in the 21st century. Initially, the export list included basic raw and primary goods (like rubber, sugar and gold). Currently, 84% of exports consist of manufactured and semi-manufactured products.

The era of vast economic changes and progress happened between 1875 and 1975. In the last ten years, domestic production improved by 32.3 percent. Agribusiness (agriculture and cattle-raising) grew by 47 percent or 3.6 percent per year. The Brazilian government started a program for economic development called Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento. This was created to stimulate growth in the economy.

According to Transparency International, Brazil’s transparency ranking in the international world is currently 75^th. This is the same as Colombia, Peru, and Suriname.