Doing business with Brazil

International relations

The recent visit to South Africa by Brazil’s Minister of External Relations, Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, reaffirmed the country’s strong ties to its BRICS partner.

He was accompanied by a delegation of Brazilian business people who took part in a Brazil-South Africa Business Seminar discussing opportunities in sectors such as energy and food production, as well as looking at ways to enhance business relations between both countries.

Minister Nunes Ferreira met with South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.

Brazil is South Africa’s largest South American trading partner. South Africa’s five exports to the country are anthracite, precious metals, plastics, aluminium and car engines. Its top imports from Brazil are vehicles, meat, sweets and confectioneries, machinery and ore.

The two ministers emphasised the need to improve trade between the countries, welcoming the entry into force of the Preferential Trade Agreement between SACU – the Southern African Customs Union between Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa – and Mercosul, the Common Market of the South between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

“We both reaffirmed the strategic partnership between South Africa and Brazil, which spans country-to-country cooperation, cooperation through inter-regional mechanisms and at the global level,” Minister Nkoana-Mashabane said.”