Brazil: Buying

In this page: Customs Procedures | Industrial and Manufacturing Profile | Identifying a Supplier | Controlling the Quality of the Products | Organizing Goods Transport To and From Brazil

Customs Procedures

Export Clearance: You must be registered with the Secretariat for Foreign Trade (SECEX), have a registration number in the national register of persons (CPF) or in the national tax register (CGC). The export declaration is the primary document for exports customs clearance. You must also have all the documentation for the products exported, licenses, certificates of origin, invoices and some proof of the order of the product from the country it is being exported to.
Necessary Declaration: There is a specific declaration for agricultural products, in particular for GMOs.
Restrictions: Import and export of some goods are strictly prohibited, including: weapons, wild animals, illegal drugs, pirated and counterfeit goods, goods that threaten the public order and toys that replicate firearms.
Export Taxes: The Export Duty is a federal tax charged on Brazilian exports that were produced in Brazil or that were nationalized and then exported after reprocessing. The Export Duty is calculated at the moment it is registered as an Export Declaration on Siscomex (Sistema Integrado de Comércio Exterior).

Industrial and Manufacturing Profile

Type of Production: For the resources for businesses on managing the manufacturing and the supply chain risk due to the outbreak of the Covid19 pandemic, please consult the report COVID-19: Managing supply chain risk and disruption (Deloitte Canada, 2020), as well as the insights on COVID-19: How to fortify your supply chain (Kearney, 2020).
The World Economic Forum's COVID Action Platform provides useful information on the latest strategic trends regarding COVID-19 implications for businesses, including manufacturing and supply systems. The report Outbreak Readiness and Business Impact (World Economic Forum in collaboration with the Harvard Global Health Institute) offers insights on handling coronavirus by businesses and strategies for effective response and resilience.
Industry is dynamic and constitutes 20% of GDP. The following sectors are especially crucial: agri-foods, textiles, aeronautics, pharmacy, iron and steel, automobile and chemical.

Professional Associations by Sector: 81 professional associations listed for Brazil.

Type of Manufacturers

Original Equipment Manufacturers: Manufacturers of spare parts for the automobile, aeronautics, IT and electronics industries, appreciated for their excellent technological skills for a relatively low cost.
Original Design Manufacturers: A great number of subcontractors have had to adapt to the requirements of their industrial customers and take a larger part in the industrial production process. They have gone from the simple task of making parts to that of assisting in decision making or marketing.
Subcontractors: This involves a certain number of fields, but many fewer than its South East Asian competitors because of the cost of labor and its overvalued currency. Nevertheless, the national industrial fabric relies for a large part on these effective and flexible intermediaries, in particular in high-tech industries, in order to respond to international competition. This expansion of subcontracting meets with some resistance on the Brazilian job market, traditionally protected because of the flexibility demanded and low wages.
Useful Resources: Brazil Outsourcing guide

Identifying a Supplier

Business Directories

Multi-sector Directories: All.biz - Brazil - Directory of companies in Brazil
Brasil Business Directory - List of companies and company profiles in Brazil
BrazilBiz - Vendors and business opportunities in Brazil
Cyclex Brazil - Brazil's business directory
List-of-companies - List of companies in Brazil.
PlanetaBrasileiro - Search engine for companies in Brazil
Telelistas.net - Brazil's business directory.
The Yellow Pages - Brazil Yellow Pages.

To search directories by industry in Brazil, check out our service Business Directories.

Marketplaces

Marketplaces incorporated in the country: B2Brazil
Bolsa Electronica de Compras
Buscamaquinas
Elo7
Mercado Eletrônico

To go further, check out our service Online Marketplaces.

Other Useful Resources

Trade Agencies and Their Representations Abroad: Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Rio de Janeiro
Official foreign trade website
Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency
Brazilian Chambers of Commerce abroad
Contact Your Commercial Representations in Brazil: Embassy of Italy in Brazil
S.E.S. Avenida das Naçoes, Lote 30
Quadra 807
70420.900 Brasilia, D.F
Phone: 0055 61 34429900
Fax: 34431231
Contact the Embassy via Email.
Fairs and Trade Shows: Calendars of trade shows and exhibitions

To go further, check out our service Trade Shows.

Learn more about Service Providers in Brazil on Globaltrade.net, the Directory for International Trade Service Providers.

Controlling the Quality of the Products

Quality Control Organizations: Brazilian association for technical standards
National institute for standardization
National Council of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality (CONMETRO)

Organizing Goods Transport To and From Brazil

Main Useful Means of Transport: Road transport is the most widely used method of transport in Brazil, particularly for goods traded with South American countries. A study conducted by the Brazilian National Transportation Confederation (Confederação Nacional do Transporte - CNT) shows that the road transportation represents 60% of the cargo handling in Brazil. Practically all the State capitals are linked by paved roads and major states (including São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro) have expressways. According to CNT, the latest survey in 2018 indicated 1.7 million kilometers of roads in the country, of which approximately 12% are paved. Of all the roads, the vast majority are state and municipal controlled, 95.1%, while 4.9% are federal.
Rail transit is the second most frequently used method of transportation, the railroad system totals approximately 30,000 kilometers. Only 7% of railway lines are electrified.
Despite the enormous potential for river traffic, only 13% of cargo is transported through waterways.
Transport by sea is widely used as costs are reduced. With a coastline stretching for 8.5 thousand kilometres navigable, in 2019 Brazilian ports moved around 1,104 billion tonnes of a wide variety of imported and exported goods. Brazil's large cities are well served by air, but this type of goods transport is not very developed, mainly because of the high cost. It represents less than 5% of the Brazilian foreign trade.

Overall, Brazilian transportation infrastructure faces many challenges, as roads and ports need to be upgraded. However, the transportation sector was among the sectors showing the highest economic growth.

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Learn more about Sourcing in Brazil on Globaltrade.net, the Directory for International Trade Service Providers.