MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil, Spain's main destination of net investment in 2007

Brazil became in 2007 Spain's second most important trade partner in the region (behind Mexico) and the main destination for Spanish net investments, according to official figures released this week in Madrid.

Between January and September last year Spain's net investment in Brazil totaled 1.197 billion Euros, double the 2006 figure (627 million Euros). In 2006, Spain was Brazil's third foreign net investor behind United States, 2.295 billion Euros and Netherlands, 1.393 billion Euros. According to Spain's Commercial Office in Brasilia, in 2007 Brazil was the second most important trade partner in Latinamerica and 25 in global ranking with exports of 1.3 billion Euros, up 16.21% over 2006. Spain sales to Brazil are mainly industrial equipment (550 million Euros), semi manufactured goods (359 million) and automobiles (175 million). But in 2007 Brazil's exports to Spain jumped 39.83% compared to 2006 to just over three billion Euros. Brazil thus became ranked as Spain's 19th supplier. Brazil's main sales were food (1.56 billion Euros; semi manufactured goods (632 million Euros) and commodities (379 million). Spain's trade deficit with Brazil jumped from just over a billion Euros in 2006 to 1.7 billion in 2007. However in spite of the flourishing trade figures Spain and Brazil are in the midst of a diplomatic row over migratory issues. In the last few weeks Brazil has been turning back Spanish tourists in reprisal for a massive rejection of Brazilian tourists in Madrid's Barajas airport which totaled 2.764 last year. According to Spain's Tourism Office, 204.000 Brazilians visited Spain in the first nine months of last year which represents a 28% increase over the same period in 2006. Brazilians are only second to Bolivians as to the number of tourists turned back from visiting Spain. Madrid's Barajas airport turned back last year 3.357 Bolivians.