The following article also appears in today’s Irish News www.irishnews.com

To offset the impact the recession is having on the market, businesses are being encouraged to consider exporting their goods and services to regions that are experiencing growth. Suzanne Hill, director of Handel Export looks at key traits of the Brazilian economy.

Brazil is a huge country, with a land mass that is almost twice that of Europe. It has a population of around 195 million and unlike the rest of Latin America where Spanish prevails, Portuguese is the primary language. Sao Paulo is the main industrial and commercial centre and has a population of around 18 million people. It is the largest market in Latin America and is ranked 10th in the world in terms of GDP at present. However it is anticipated that in the coming year, Brazil will overtake Italy to become the 9th largest economy in the world. In the last decade, the country has experienced massive upward social mobility, which has resulted in a growing middle class. Recently the country’s former president Lula da Silva predicted that Brazil would become the world’s fifth largest economy by 2020.

So how can companies tap into this growth? There are strong business opportunities across a wide spectrum of sectors, such as education and life sciences, consumer goods, telecoms, food and drink, water and power to name a few. Brazil is also set to host the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016. Both of these events require an expansive supporting infrastructure – especially when you consider that there is approximately 1.6 million kilometres of state, municipal and federal highways in Brazil, only 12% of which is paved. Prior to the games, Brazil will be investing significantly in developing its road infrastructure. This presents a range of opportunities for construction companies.

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