Future business deals between Canada and Brazil hold much promise despite trade difficulties at the political level, according to representatives of the South American country.

“Brazil is open for investment. All companies who want to invest are welcome there,” Daniel Pedroso, deputy manger of licensing rounds for the Brazil National Petroleum Agency, said at a recent forum in Calgary which examined sustainable trade and investment opportunities between the two countries.

Halina Ostrovski

Recent trade disputes, including a rumoured ban by Brazil on the importation of Canadian cattle and semen due to the threat of BSE (mad cow disease) and the $2.6-billion government-subsidized deal won by Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier over Brazilian competitor Embraer SA, “will not interfere with investment” between the two countries, Pedroso said.

“We need companies to bring more investment, more jobs and more development for our country,” he added.

The “Brazil and Canada — Back on Track” forum was held at the Palliser Hotel by the FGL Open Global Business Society in co-operation with the Canadian Beef Breeds Council, the Canadian Council for the Americas, and the Exporters and Importers Association of Calgary. Sponsors included Continental Airlines, PanCanadian Petroleum, and Business Edge.

Doug Mitchell

“This is an example of the kind of dialogue we could have, not just with Brazil but with the entire world,” said David Mitrovica, president of the FGL Society. “It’s not just Canadians talking to Canadians about Brazil. It’s about Brazilians meeting Canadians first hand. And in my mind, it’s in those one-on-ones, those personal informal meetings where business gets done – not in a quick handshake, here’s the deal, but in building firmer personal relationships.”

Alberta has much to gain by strengthening ties with Brazil, agreed Doug Mitchell, chairman of the Alberta Economic Development Authority. “Brazilians are looking to us for expertise and leadership,” he said, in a number of areas in which Alberta specializes, including oil and gas development and agriculture. Both areas rely heavily on exports markets, he added, while Alberta and Brazil are also leaders in agri-food, telecommunications and the energy sector.

Halina Ostrovski, president of the Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce, and head of the Canadian Council for the Americas, noted that Canadian exports to Brazil have risen more than 28 per cent over the past year. Canada exports goods like newsprint, sulphur, wheat, electrical equipment and fertilizer from Brazil, which in turn exports coffee, fruit juices, car parts and footwear.

“The market is open for business . . . it is a country that offers an enormous amount of opportunity,” said Ostrovski.

The current trade dispute between the countries, which resolves around the issue of Brazilian government subsidies to the aerospace industry, is being fought before the World Trade Organization.

“Is this going to impact the overall picture of relations with Brazil? On the political level, yes,” says Ostrovski. “But we have an enormous amount of exchange happening on all sorts of levels.”

“I am very optimistic, because business people see through things, and look at the opportunity, provided they can put their comparative advantages first. I believe in the ability of the Canadian companies to do business there.”

Ostrovski added she fears the festering trade dispute may eventually spill over and affect other industries, and added she would like to see any sanctions eventually applied by Canada remain solely in the aerospace sector.

Brazil is Canada’s largest trading partner in the Latin American region. Along with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, Brazil also belongs to a common market trading bloc called Mercosur, which is Canada’s leading export market in South America.

“The Canada-Brazil relationship is one that is of great importance to us,” added Senator Dan Hays, who offered welcoming remarks at the forum.

Relationships are more than just trade, he said, but also an understanding of one another’s cultures.

“We’ve a long history of trading with one another,” Hays said. “Events like these are extremely important in maintaining ties and developing them.”

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Lisa Dempster can be reached at: lisa@businessedge.ca