Argentina sends companies to Brazil on business mission to increase exports

Looking for foreign exchange at a time of annual inflation above 70% and uncertainty about the direction of its economy, Argentina will bring 36 food and beverage companies to Brazil to increase its manufactured products exports.

The business mission, made up of companies from nine Argentine provinces, initiates on Thursday, August 30, and focuses on the Brazilian Center-West region. A business roundtable at the country’s embassy in Brasília should bring together up to 250 representatives of supermarket chains, wholesalers, and retailers in the Federal District, Goiás, Mato Grosso, and Amazonas.

See below the share of each one of the top 10 most exported products in containers from Argentina to Brazil from January to July 2022. The data is from DataLiner.

Top 10 Exports from Argentina to Brazil | Jan – Jul | 2022 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

“The markets in the South and Southeast of Brazil have plenty of Argentine products,” says Rodrigo Bardoneschi, head of the embassy’s economic and commercial section. According to him, the mission primarily focuses on small and medium-sized producers.

Wines, oils, olives, cheeses, dairy products, pasta, vinegar, vegetables, strawberries, blueberries, shrimp, gin, and even capsule drinks are on the list of products offered. “The idea is to create a connection avenue and put potential sellers and buyers in touch, then promote individual conversation rounds,” says Bardoneschi.

The relaunch of the Brazil-Argentina Chamber of Commerce will take place at the event, bringing to 13 the number of bilateral trade chambers active in the country. Local businessman Alvaro Siqueira Júnior will chair the Federal District division for two years.

Siqueira believes that exports from Argentina generally have a reputation for excellent quality in the Brazilian market, with the advantage of being sold for much cheaper than their European counterparts, such as wines and cheeses, thanks to the exchange rate difference. The Argentine peso is currently a weak currency in the international market. Since January 2020, the value of the dollar has risen by almost 80% in the country.

“Sometimes, consumers want to try a new, high-quality wine or cheese but are put off by the cost. Argentine products can provide the same experience but significantly cheaper than a comparable French, Italian, or Spanish item.”

Silveira also says that the recreation of the chamber of commerce will help provide legal and technical advice, such as customs brokers, for small and medium-sized companies that want to do business and have little experience.

Among the companies that compose the mission are La Serenissima (dairy products), Pampa Cheese (cheese), Bodega Weinert (wines and sparkling wines), Hojalmar (bakery products), Flora Foods (honey, premixes, buckwheat, dietary supplements).

Except for wheat and rye, no food or beverage is part of Argentina’s top five export items to Brazil. Nevertheless, total sales from the neighboring country to Brazil totaled US$ 7.2 billion between January and July 2022, an increase of 17% over the value of the same period last year.

Bardoneschi, from the Argentine embassy, also says that the Alberto Fernández administration intends to stimulate bilateral trade in local currencies (without the use of the dollar), which can reduce transaction and banking costs. Siqueira, however, assesses that the current moment is not ripe for such initiative – because of the weakness of both the peso and the real – thus, making it hard for companies to forsake the dollar.

Source: Valor Econômico

To read the full original article, please go to: https://valor.globo.com/brasil/noticia/2022/08/30/argentina-traz-missao-empresarial-para-exportar-mais-ao-centro-oeste.ghtml

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