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Capital
Brasília
Geographical location
Brazil is the largest of the Latin American countries. Brazil has 10 neighbors: the Department of French Guiana and the countries of Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, and Colombia bound Brazil on the north. Uruguay and Argentina are on the south, and on the west are Paraguay, Bolivia, and Peru. The Atlantic Ocean extends along the entire eastern side of the country, giving it a coastline of 7,367 km.
Climate
Mostly tropical, but temperate in south
Natural Resources
Brazil is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of raw and processed minerals. Apart from its major oil and gas reserves, the country’s enormous mineral deposits include reserves of iron, bauxite, manganese, tin and gold.
Types: Bauxite, Gold, Iron ore, Manganese, Nickel, Phosphates, Platinum, Uranium, Tin, Petroleum, Hydropower,Timber.
Economy
Brazil accounts for three fifths of the South American economy’s industrial production and integrates various economic groups, such as Mercosur, G-22 and the Cairns Group. The country’s scientific and technological development, together with a dynamic and diversified industrial sector, is attractive to foreign enterprise: direct investment was in the region of US$ 20 billion /year on average, compared to US$ 2 billion/year last decade.
Brazil trades regularly with over one hundred nations, with 74% of exports represented by manufactured or semi manufactured goods. Its main partners are: the EEC (representing 26% of the balance), the US (24%), Mercosul and Latin America (21%) and Asia (12%). One of the most dynamic sectors in this trade scenery is the so-called “agro business” sector, which for two decades has kept Brazil amongst the most highly productive countries in areas related to the rural sector.
The owner of a sophisticated technological sector, Brazil develops projects that range from submarines to aircraft and is involved in space research: the country possesses a Launching Center for Light Vehicles and was the only country in the Southern Hemisphere to integrate the team responsible for the construction of the International Space Station-the ISS. A pioneer in the field of deep water oil research, from where 73% of its reserves are extracted, Brazil was the first capitalist country to bring together the ten largest car assembly companies inside its national territory.
Industries
Brazil’s manufacturing industry is the largest and most diverse in Latin America. In addition to traditional sectors, such as machine tools, electrical equipment and cars, several technologically advanced industries have developed during the past decade, two of the most significant of which are aircraft manufacturing and the production of telecommunications equipment.
Products: Textiles, Shoes, Chemicals, Cement, Lumber, iron Ore, Tin, Steel, Aircraft, Motor vehicles and parts, other Machinery and Equipment.
Foreign Trade
Nowadays the Brazilian economy presents a general trade perspective in which on the exports side, manufactured and semi-manufactured product lines using natural resources and energy are expanding and becoming strongly competitive. Dependence on basic products has been reduced but there is an increasing specialization, as a whole, in industrialized products with a relatively simplified technological content and a small aggregate value.
A close analysis of Brazil’s foreign trade reveals the country’s increasing integration in world market circuits. The latter offer opportunities and challenges: on the one hand they provide opportunities to expand the production of goods for export, as well as the acquisition of equipment and technology for technological renewal; on the other hand they offer serious competitive challenges and in several cases, discourage local production.
The final balance between stimulation and restriction offered by trade in connection with economic growth will depend on the response in terms of private local investment and consequently on the greater or lesser capacity demonstrated by macroeconomic policies and industrial policy to maximize the taking up of opportunities offered by overseas trade.
Brazil is the biggest commercial partner of China in Latin America, with the bilateral trade of 12,16 thousand million euros in 2005.
The Brazilian exportations in 2005 had reached 8,19 a thousand million euros and the importations of Chinese products in 2005 had reached the 4,3 a thousand million euros.
Major exports: iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, automobile
Major imports: machinery and equipment, chemical products, oil, electricity, autos and auto parts
Area and production
Over 60 million hectares of land are divided into approximately five thousand areas of rural property; an agricultural area currently with three borders: the Central-western region (savanna), the Northern region (area of transition) and parts of the Northeastern region (semi-arid). At the forefront of grain crops, which produce over 110 million ton/year, is the soybean, yielding 50 million ton.
In the bovine cattle-raising sector, the “green ox”, which is raised in pastures, on a diet of hay and mineral salts, conquered markets in Asia, Europe and the Americas, particularly after the “mad cow disease” scare period. Brazil has the largest cattle herd in the world, with 198 million heads, responsible for exports surpassing the mark of US$ 1 billion/year.
Agriculture
Agriculture (agribusiness) accounts for 34% of Brazil’s GDP, 37% of all jobs nationwide and represents 43% of national exports, making it the only sector, among all the export sectors in the country, to produce a surplus. The Ministry for Agriculture, Livestock and Supply predicts that a further 30 million hectares will be added to the country’s current 62 million hectares of planted land within the next 15 years, to be yielded by grazing lands, thanks to the technological development achieved in the cattle-raising areas of meat production and dairy farming.
Products: Coffee, Soybeans, Wheat, Rice, Corn, Sugarcane, Cocoa, Citrus, Beef
Services
The global value of services represented 52% of GDP in 2005. The main areas of services are: Real Estate, Trade, Import and Export, Tourism, Financial Services, Insurance, Consulting, auditing, etc.
Tourism
The World Travel and Tourism Council, a travel industry forum, estimates that Brazil’s travel and tourism industry accounted for 3% of GDP and provided employment for 2.5% of the workforce.
In 2003, the country was visited by 694 million of foreign tourists. The main tourist categories are beach tourism, eco-tourism and city tourism associated with carnivals, and majority of visitors are proceeding from Europe, America (North and South) and Asia. The main entry points are: São Paulo (48,7%), Rio De Janeiro (15,4%), Rio Grande do Sul (13.8%), Santa Catarina (1,8%), and other points (9,8%).
Transportation
From its earliest colonial history, transportation has always been a challenge for Brazil because of its size and topography. In the last 30 years this challenge has finally been met: a systematic approach has been adopted to plan and implement a national system of integrated surface transport - road, rail, and water.
Rail
As the most appropriate method of moving non-perishable cargo over long distances, rail is the second most important transportation mode in Brazil. The total length of the nation's rail network, main and branch lines is 18,330 miles (29,500 km).
Roads
Although road transportation is often more expensive than other modes, it is virtually unmatched as a fast means of moving comparatively small amounts of cargo and passengers over short distances. This is one of the main reasons why road transportation is the most widely used mode in Brazil.
Brazilian highways are of modern design. Practically all the state capitals are linked by paved roads. São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and other major cities have modern metropolitan expressways. Of Brazil's 1.0 million miles of roads (1.6 million km), around nine percent are paved.
Ports
Until now Brazil's long coastline and vast waterways in most of the hinterland have not been fully exploited for waterborne transport.
Brazil has 46 organized ports, 24 of which ocean ports. Among the busiest are Santos, Rio de Janeiro, and Porto Alegre.
With 48,000 km of navigable rivers and more than 7,000 km of coastline, Brazil has great unexploited potential for river and maritime shipping.
Air
Brazil's physical characteristics and the requirements of fast economic growth led (starting in the 1930's) to the establishment of a vast network of air services. Today the availability of air transportation far exceeds demand.
In 2003, the passengers’ movement in the airports was around 60,368 million of people. The country has around 2,000 airports, all of which are operated by Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária, a government agency. There are 22 locally-owned airlines operated in the country. The busiest international airports are in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Recife and Manaus.
Foreign Investment
Over the last few years Brazil has been among the world’s leading recipients of foreign direct investment (FDI). In 1999, for example, Brazil received about US$30 billion in FDI. The impressive figures reflect the strong, longstanding presence of international companies in Brazil’s leading economic sectors, such as telecommunications, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, automotive and mechanical, besides those in many services sectors.
The inflow of FDI has been sustained among other factors, by size of the domestic market, political stability, openness and improved macroeconomic conditions, especially in terms of enhanced fiscal discipline and adjustment, as well as by various economic reforms.
Annual Indicators
| |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
| Area Sq Km |
8,511,965 |
8,511,965 |
8,547,400 |
8,547,400 |
8,547,400 |
| Population (m) |
179.0 |
181.6 |
184.2 |
186.8 |
189.3 |
| GDP (US$ bn) |
552.2 |
663.6 |
882.0 |
1,067.4 |
1,261.5 |
| Real GDP growth(%) |
1.2 |
5.7 |
2.9 |
3.7 |
4.7 |
| GDP per capita (US$) |
3.08 |
3.65 |
4.78 |
5.71 |
6.66 |
| Consumer Price Inflation (%) |
14.7 |
6.6 |
6.9 |
4.2 |
3.6 |
| Exports of goods FOB (US$ million) |
73,084 |
96,475 |
118,309 |
137,808 |
161,164 |
| Imports of goods CIF (US$ million) |
-48,290 |
-62,835 |
-73,606 |
-91,349 |
-116,463 |
| Current Account Balance (US$ m) |
4,177 |
11,679 |
13,985 |
13,622 |
8,540 |
| Exchange Rate (av; R:US$) |
3.08 |
2.93 |
2.44 |
2.18 |
2.00 |
Foreign Trade (2006)
| Main Exports |
US$ Millions |
| Transport Equipment & parts |
20,098 |
| Metallurgical products |
15,068 |
| Soybeans, meal & oils |
10,481 |
| Chemical products |
3,936 |
| Main Imports |
US$ Millions |
| Machinery & electrical equipment |
23,560 |
| Chemical products |
14,414 |
| Oil & derivatives |
15,201 |
| Transport equipment & parts |
10,301 |
| Main Destinations for Exports |
% total |
| USA |
18.0 |
| Argentina |
8.5 |
| China |
6.1 |
| Germany |
4.1 |
| Main Origin of Imports |
% total |
| USA |
16.3 |
| Argentina |
8.8 |
| China |
8.7 |
| Netherlands |
0.9 |
Trading
Mainland China-Brazil Bilateral Trade (US$ 10,000)
| |
Total |
Exports* |
Imports** |
| 2005 |
1,481,973 |
482,721 |
999,252 |
| 2004 |
1,234,697 |
367,410 |
867,286 |
| 2003 |
584,229 |
214,326 |
798,555 |
* China’s export value to Brazil
** China’s import value from Brazil
Macao SAR-Brazil Bilateral Trade (US$ 1,000)
| |
Total |
Exportações* |
Importações** |
| 2006 |
10.44 |
2.81 |
7.63 |
| 2005 |
7.14 |
0.32 |
6.82 |
| 2004 |
11.52 |
0.06 |
11.46 |
| 2003 |
4.79 |
0.07 |
4.72 |
* Macao SAR’s export value to Brazil
** Macao SAR’s import value to Brazil
| Main Exports |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
| Garments, Not Knitted or Crocheted |
9.23 |
19.67 |
41.12 |
| Office, Automatic data P.machine |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Leather and fur articles |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Footwear |
1.86 |
0 |
0 |
| Garments, Knitted or Crocheted |
9.79 |
33.36 |
232.26 |
| Other |
43.97 |
267.78 |
2,535.44 |
| Total |
64.86 |
320.81 |
2,808.82 |
| Main Imports |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
| Foodstuff, beverages and tobacco |
5,605.12 |
5,829.66 |
6,756.12 |
| Other consumer goods |
244.57 |
176.86 |
72.81 |
| Raw materials and semi-manufactured goods |
5,578.98 |
636.39 |
703.78 |
| Fuels and Lubricants |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Capital goods |
26.56 |
177.88 |
99.33 |
| Total |
11,455.24 |
6,820.79 |
7,632.04 |
Given the language, culture and close relationships, Macao has been dealing with Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking countries through various channels for a long time. IPIM has co-operation protocols with the FIBRA and SEBRAE- DF of Brazil.
Source:
Agência Nacional de Transportes Terrestes
Banco Central do Brasil – BACEN
China Statistical Yearbook 2006
Consulado Geral do Brasil em Hong Kong e Macau
The Economic Intelligence Unit: Country Report - Country Profile/Country Report
The Economic Services of the Macao SAR Government
Macau Economic Services
Ministério do Desenvolvimento, Indústria e Comércio Exterior
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica – IBGE
Instituto Brasileiro de Turismo
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China
Portal do Brasil www.brasil.gov.br
The World Bank homepage
The World Factbook www.cia.gov
http://pt.wikipedia.org
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