Bangladesh exports to Brazil clocks 60% growth

As Bangladesh has become an emerging economy in the region and has maintained a steady economic growth over years defying the corona pandemic, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has decided to expand multilateral engagements especially in the trade and investment with the South Asian country.
As part of that strategy, a high-powered trade delegation of the Latin American country visited Bangladesh with an aim to strengthen bilateral trade with Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s export to Brazil, the largest market Latin America, during last 2022-23 fiscal year posted some 60 per cent growth over the previous 2021-22 fiscal year, according to data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
In the 2021-22 fiscal year, Bangladesh exported goods valued at $109.20 million to Brazil. The main products that Bangladesh exported to Brazil were Jerseys, pullovers, cardigans, waistcoats and similar articles; knitted or crocheted, shirts; men's or boys' (not knitted or crocheted), and suits, ensembles, jackets, blazers, trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts (other than swimwear); men's or boys' (not knitted or crocheted).
During the 1995-2020 period, exports of Bangladesh to Brazil have increased at an annualized rate of 9.08 per cent, from $15.1 million in 1995 to $132 million in 2020.
In the 2021-22 fiscal year, Brazil exported goods valued $2,245.1 million US dollars to Bangladesh. The main products that Brazil exported to Bangladesh were cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose, in solid form, cotton; not carded or combed, and soybeans, whether or not broken.
Earlier, in a letter sent to the Foreign Ministry, Bangladesh Ambassador in Brazil Sadia Faizunnesa said the delegation will visit Bangladesh as Brazil’s President Luiz Inasio Lula Da Silva is looking to expand his country’s trade.
Meanwhile, the Embassy of Brazil in Dhaka in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Department of Trade Promotion, Investment Attraction (DPRA) and Agribusiness in Brazil (Apex-Brazil) and Brazil-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BBCCI) held a daylong conference titled Brazil-Bangladesh Trade Conference in May in the city.
Commerce Minister of Bangladesh Tipu Munshi was present as the chief guest at the seminar.
Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President Md. Jashim Uddin and leading business leaders attended seminar.
Brazil, the largest economy in South America, will leave no stone unturned to increase trade relations with Bangladesh as the latter has become a new economic giant in the South Asian region, said Brazil Ambassador to Bangladesh Paulo Fernandos Dias Feres.
Brazil is the fourth largest cotton producer and second top exporter while Bangladesh is the second largest cotton importer in the world.
In 2022, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF), Brazilian nominal GDP was US$1.833 trillion. The GDP per capita was US$8,570 per inhabitant. Brazil has a long history of being among the ten largest economies in the world and rich in natural resources.
The economy of Bangladesh is estimated to have expanded at a slower-than-expected pace in 2022-23, said the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), a figure that analysts describe as good in view of elevated inflation, slowing exports and remittances and the ongoing pressure on the country's foreign exchange reserves.
The gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.03 per cent in the fiscal year, ending in June, said the national statistical agency based on its provisional estimate.
The economy expanded by 7.1 per cent in 2021-22 but the buoyancy began to slow down following the Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Prof Shamsul Alam, state minister for planning, shared the GDP growth estimate of the BBS after the meeting of the National Economic Council recently.
The estimate of the BBS is higher than the projection made by the international agencies such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank.
Among the three, the IMF projected the highest growth at 5.5 per cent of GDP for FY23.
The BBS projection is based on the performance of the various indicators of the economy in the first half of FY23 and is lower than the government's goal of 6.5 per cent.
The economic growth target was revised downward twice since the beginning of the fiscal year in July owing to the continuing stress in the economy.
Sources said the Foreign Ministry and Commerce Ministry have been asked by the highest echelons of the government to step up efforts for signing Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) or Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Brazil and three other Mercosur countries--Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
In addition, officials concerned have been asked to bolster agriculture cooperation between Bangladesh and Brazil.
In a recent communication, it requested the authorities concerned in Dhaka to make all necessary arrangements to facilitate the visit of the Brazilian delegation.
In the letter, Ambassador Sadia Faizunnesa said Paraná is the second most economically important state in Brazil with a GDP of $1.7 trillion. The country’s second largest cargo port is located in the state.
The Bangladesh government is actively negotiating with Mercosur countries for access to their market which could take Bangladesh’s overall exports to new heights.
According to stakeholders, signing of FTA or PTA with Brazil and Mercosur countries is of high importance for Bangladesh’s export expansion. Particularly, the agreements will open the door to an immense opportunity for Bangladesh’s pharmaceuticals sector.
The Governor of State Parana, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Invest Parana and some other business leaders from different sectors have expressed their interest to visit Dhaka, according to a communication from the Bangladesh mission in Brazil.
It is noted that the country, being the heart of Latin America and the 12th largest economy of the world, could be a new front for trade and investment for Bangladesh.
Ambassador Sadia Faizunnesa visited State Parana in June last year and met with Parana State authorities and different business bodies, and presented Bangladesh's promising and lucrative investment and commercial opportunities.
However, Bangladesh's potentials and investment opportunities are very little known in Brazil, she said.
Also, Parana has the best access for the products of MERCOSUR countries.