Companies sign up for Brazilian mission
Sep 17 2007 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal
THE land of free-flowing football and the samba beat could soon become the land of opportunity for businesses in the region.
Several companies from the North-East are hoping to boost profits by embarking on a trade mission to Brazil lead by the Government’s UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) office.
Up to 15 companies from a range of sectors are expected to sign up for next February’s trip which aims to pave the way for other North-East businesses looking to enter the Brazilian market.
Firms expected to sign up for the visit includes a property developer, an engineering business, an architectural company and a TV documentary maker.
Meanwhile a textiles firm, a dance company and a toy retailer have also shown a keen interest in the mission.
UKTI international trade adviser Jeff Sanders said: “Brazil is the tenth biggest economy on the planet and we see huge opportunities there for North-East businesses.“It’s another rapidly emerging economy like India and China and it’s open to British products. The trip is an ideal opportunity for companies to do market research or look for partners or distributors.”
Mr Sanders said UKTI had led several successful Brazilian trade missions from other UK regions in the past . The seven-day trip will be backed by the British Consulate in Brazil and will take in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Next week a representative from the British Embassy in Sao Paulo will visit the North-East to speak to firms about the business opportunities in Brazil.
UKTI’s South American visit is one of a number of trade missions from the North-East planned by the Government organisation.
In November the group will take several businesses to the Middle East, starting in Dubai and moving on to Oman and Qatar. Firms booked on to the trip include replica football shirt company Toffs, technology group Onyx and commercial and industrial door maker Hart Door Systems. UKTI is also planning trade missions to Australia, Sweden and Mexico.
If the Brazilian mission proves a success it could give a further boost to the North-East’s already impressive positive trade gap. Last year the positive trade gap for the region soared by £100m to £2.5bn, making it one of the few regions with more exports than imports.
The recent International Trade Summary said the region’s trade gap in 2006 was the second biggest in the country behind the East Midlands.
