The Joint Government-Regions-Chamber System Mission to Brazil began last Monday and will last until 25 May. The most important Italian bodies for internationalization (Sace and Simest) and over 200 companies also participate in the Mission, promoted by the Ministry of Economic Development in collaboration with ICE, with the Italian Regions and with the support of the Cameral System.
The initiative is of a multi-sectoral nature (Aerospace, Agro-food, Agro-industry, Automotive, Contract, Construction, Energy, Social housing, Wood - Furniture, Logistics, Mechanics, Nautical, Fashion System) and will touch several cities in the South American country (São Paulo, São José dos Campos, Curitiba, Recife and Belo Horizonte).
16 Italian regions joined the mission: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Emilia Romagna, Liguria, Lombardy, Marche, Molise, Piedmont, the Autonomous Province of Trento, Puglia, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany, Umbria, Veneto.
The mission includes in-depth discussions with experts, visits to production centers and B2B meetings with selected local counterparts. The program is divided into an initial unified plenary session in Sao Paulo, with the presentation of the opportunities for commercial, entrepreneurial and investment collaboration with Brazil; a bilateral Italy-Brazil Forum and B2B meetings with economic operators and local counterparts dedicated to all sectors. This was followed by parallel sessions in the localities of São Paulo, São José dos Campos, Curitiba, Recife and Belo Horizonte, with techno-thematic and B2B meetings.
Italy represents Brazil's eighth commercial partner, second only to Germany among the countries of the European Union; in the first eleven months of last year, the trade recorded between the two countries increased by about 28% compared to the previous period, for an amount of more than eight billion euros. While Brazilian imports are based on raw materials and agro-food products, Italian exports to Brazil are mainly concentrated on machinery for general or special use, electronic and electrical engineering products, automotive components and basic chemical products; however, a noteworthy increase was also recorded in Made in Italy luxury products in 2011. Italian investments in the large South American country are also notable, not only by our large companies, but also by many SMEs.
