MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Rousseff promises fiscal and credit stimuli to promote exports and innovation

The Brazilian president made the announcement during the Grape and Wine festival

Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff said the government will implement fiscal and credit access measures to stimulate production and exports with the purpose of gaining competitiveness in a global context of crisis.

“This year we will expand fiscal incentives to domestic production and exports. Credit will be awarded in more adequate conditions to help stimulate innovation, creation of jobs and further measures of trade defence” according to a release from the Brazilian Executive.

President Rousseff made the announcement during the opening of the Grape and Wine Festival in the southern city of Caxias do Sul, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul which is also Brazil’s main wine producing region.

“We are certain that Brazil will be one of the countries in the world stage that will have significant growth rates, in spite of the adverse global conditions”, said Rousseff.

The international crisis demands from the Brazilian market more competitiveness, besides additional stimuli measures to combat all “predatory practices”, underlined the President.

In January Brazil experienced a trade deficit of 1.29 billion dollars, the first negative result in the last 24 months. Exports totalled 16.14 billion dollars up 1.3% compares to January 2011, while imports soared 12.3% to 17.45 billion dollars according to official data.

Last year Brazil managed a trade surplus of 29.79 billion dollars, which represented an increase of 47.8% over 2010.