Brazil wants to boost small and medium-sized business exports

Despite Brazil’s recent streak of record-breaking exports, there remains a relatively modest presence of Brazilian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the international market. This challenge has become the focus of multiple efforts by the federal government, as emphasized on Friday (22) by Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services, Geraldo Alckmin during the launch of a branch of the Peiex (Export Qualification Program) by ApexBrasil in Bauru, São Paulo.

“Export companies go up a notch; they shift to a higher level. All indicators show this. Brazil is breaking export records, but we want more companies, including small and medium-sized ones, to export. That’s the goal of the Apex program that will invest R$ 1.6 million here in Bauru,” he announced.

The program is a partnership between ApexBrasil and the Athon Higher Education institution to train Brazilian companies to engage in planned and secure export processes. Currently, the program is in all regions of Brazil, across 21 states and 57 municipalities.

For the new branch, which will also serve the municipalities of Presidente Prudente and Araçatuba in São Paulo, the entities will allocate resources to assist an additional 150 companies in the region. Some companies from this area were already being served through the Peiex branch in Jaú, a nearby city.

During his speech, AlckminF stressed the importance of the competitiveness agenda to drive industry growth and add value to its production. “Instead of exporting cotton, we export clothing; instead of exporting iron ore, we export an Embraer aircraft.”

To achieve these goals, the Vice President mentioned some measures the government took to stimulate foreign trade, such as flexible licenses that streamline processes and reduce costs for issuing licenses to exporting companies.

Alckmin also highlighted the importance of decarbonization for the country’s competitiveness. “Today, people look for where things are produced well, cheaply, and with fewer carbon emissions. That’s where Brazil is unbeatable.” He cited the country’s competitive advantages, such as policies promoting biodiesel production, an increase in ethanol percentages blended with gasoline, the potential to use lithium available in Brazil for electric vehicle battery production, and the country’s potential to produce sustainable fuels to replace aviation kerosene.

During the event, Jorge Viana, President of ApexBrasil, emphasized the importance of initiatives like Peiex in strengthening the industry and expanding the presence of Brazilian companies in the international market. “If we want to generate jobs and income, if we want to put our products all over the world, we have an opportunity now. This partnership will work (in Bauru) with 150 companies. When it is completed, God willing, 150 companies will be exporting.”

The launch event of the Peiex branch in Bauru was attended by Sandro Vidotto, Director of Athon Higher Education, ApexBrasil’s partner in the program; Suéllen Rosim, Mayor of Bauru; Rodrigo Agostinho, President of IBAMA; Daniel da Silva Motta, Innovation and Technology Manager at SENAI; and the director of SENAI João Martins Coube School.

Peiex – Through the execution of 33 agreements in 2022, Peiex qualified 3,522 companies. Out of these, 67% (2,380) are categorized as micro and small businesses (SMEs), with 516 of them exporting, generating a total value of US$1.62 billion.

Products from 18 segments were exported by these companies in 2022, with highlights including Food and Beverages (57%), Agricultural Products (22%), Fashion, Personal Hygiene, and Cosmetics (13%), Machinery and Equipment, Electrical Appliances, and Materials (2.9%), and Wood, Furniture, and Other Manufactures (1.5%).

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