Brazil’s total export to Nigeria in 2021 was $929.68 million, according to the country’s Consul-General to Nigeria, Ambassador Francisco Soares-Luz.
This year alone, he said the country’s export to Nigeria was $517.51 million.
Soares-Luz gave the figures while speaking on his country’s bicentennial independence anniversary celebration, which will begin in Nigeria tomorrow with tourism events at the Consulate General’s auditorium in Lagos.
Imports from Nigeria in the same period, he said, totalled $1,014.27 million and $1,034.70 million this year.
He listed main exported products from Brazil as sugar and molasses at 64.3% of total export value, followed by aircraft (18%), ethanol (4.6%) and tobacco (1.8%).
“Main imported product is crude oil (58%) of total import value, followed by urea for fertilisers (38.4%) and refined oils/naphtha (2.8 %),” Soares-Luz said.
The consul general added that his country’s total exports in 2021 were estimated at $280.8 billion, adding that its top four export destinations include China (31.3%), EU (13,2%), United States (11.1%) & Argentina (4.2%).
According to him, his country’s main export products were iron ore, soya bean, crude oil, cane sugar and beef and main import products were refined petroleum, chemicals, crude oil, vaccines and fertiliser.
Aside trade, cultural and educational agreements, he said in 2019, the governments of Brazil and Nigeria signed an agreement on a cooperation project known as “the Green Imperative” initiative.
“The Green Imperative is an agriculture mechanisation project. It involves a credit line of US$ 1.1 billion to Nigerian farmers and agribusiness stakeholders. The fund is for the purchase of Brazilian agricultural machinery and service provision, including training. The initial credit line is by the private sector, to be funded through a consortium led by the Deutsche Bank Brazil and some Arab funds.
“The Green Imperative is the largest scale agricultural project that ever took place within Nigeria’s territory,” he said.
He said Brazil is committed to strengthening trade relationship with Nigeria, stressing: “The biggest problem that is preventing Brazil, Nigeria trade relations to grow is the lack of logistics. There is no air cargo, and there are very few shipping lines, mostly bulk. So, we don’t have container lines going straight to Brazil.
“But we are hopefully that these will change with the green imperative as soon as the CKD machine seems to start coming, then we are going to use containers, and when we send, Nigeria products can come to Brazil using this container. So, I think logistics will improve.
“The non-availability of direct flights is also a problem because the businessmen have to go sometimes to the Middle Eastern and back or to Europe and back. The possibility through South Africa that was the most common when FedEx suspended the flights here is now complicated, it is not every day anymore. South African airlines stopped flying to Brazil. There is one Brazilian company operating the flights, but it is always full and it is the only link between Asia and Latin America.”
On his country’s bicentennial independence anniversary, the envoy said Brazil Food and Music Festival will hold at Sky Restaurant, Eko Hotel & Suites and Bicentennial Anniversary’s Official Reception at Lantana Hall, Eko Hotel & Suites on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Brazil –Nigeria Business Forum will hold at Fantasia Hall, Eko Hotel & Suites among others.