MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Strong Brazilian export drive.

Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced last week a package of initiatives and credits to promote the country's foreign trade, and to ensure “Brazil will no longer cease to grow”.

Addressing a domestic Overseas Trade forum which convened representatives from the country's main industries, Mr. Lula da Silva admitted that Brazil is known for its abandoned children, prostitution of minors, samba, carnival and soccer but "we also have a dynamic agriculture and state of the art technologies to export to the rest of the world".

The export promotion package includes quicker financing and insurance policies, access to international multilateral financing and competition know how particularly for small and medium companies, plus a reinforcement of Brazilian trade offices overseas.

"The financial stability achieved with so much sacrifice in these first months of 2003 will now help us conquer new markets", said Mr. Lula da Silva who has headed trade delegations in South America, Africa and is preparing to visit Russia and Arab countries.

"We can't wait for the world to come to us, we must show Brazil to the world and strengthen our relations with South America", stressed Mr. Lula da Silva who urged Brazilian businessmen to feel proud and strong, since nobody respects "those who negotiate with droopy heads".

Brazil has a booming agriculture and agro-business complex which is the world's third exporter behind United States and the European Union. Brazilian grain production, on the rise, was 120 million tons in 2003, figuring among the world's main producers of sugar, soybeans, citrus, cotton, beans and only recently self sufficiency in maize.

Brazil is only behind Australia and United States in beef exports and second to the US in broiler sales. Other areas in expansion include pork exports, forestry production (furniture, cellulose and paper), leather and skins. In manufacturing Brazil outstands in heavy industry, automobiles, aircrafts, satellites, communication systems.

Foreign exports in 2003 are expected to reach over 70 billion US dollars with a surplus in the range of 25 billion.