Focusing on agri-foods, the first version of the event organized by Prochile boosted bilateral trade relations and highlighted the importance and strength of the Chile brand in Brazil.
With this successful visit to Brazil we were able to confirm the importance of country image when we want to strengthen and deepen relations with other countries". Rossana Dresdner, executive director of Fundación Imagen de Chile.
The first version of Chile Week Brazil 2024, held during the first week of October in São Paulo, Brasilia and Belo Horizonte, was an intense week of work. It was a key meeting to consolidate trade relations between Chile and Brazil, promoting the image of our country in one of the most important markets in Latin America. Organized by ProChile, the event brought together Chilean and Brazilian authorities and businessmen with a focus on promoting Chilean products and strengthening the country brand.
"We have placed great emphasis on Chile's image, built on our values of democracy, diversity and sustainability. We realize that there is enormous potential and great reciprocal affection between Brazil and Chile, which we must continue to enhance," said Chile's ambassador to Brazil, Sebastián Depolo.
The Minister of Agriculture, Esteban Valenzuela, highlighted the relevance of this strategic relationship: "A country grows when it has good production and trade agreements, and requires a strong country brand. Chile appears in the world as a serious country, with quality products and traceability".
Brazil is Chile's third largest trading partner globally and the first in Latin America. The star export products to this market are wines, salmon and fruits. According to Ignacio Fernández, general director of ProChile, the business meetings during the event reinforced Chile's prestige: "With the Brazilian counterparts we see how they appreciate Chile and its products, which encourages us to continue working as a country unit".
This good relationship between the two countries is also highly valued by the Brazilian authorities: "It is a particularly important moment in the Brazil-Chile relationship. We have never had such a fortuitous moment, so favorable, given the friendship relations that are very old, fraternal relations, but also commercial relations that for some years have been strongly strengthening the commercial exchange between Brazil and Chile", said Francisco Tadeu Barbosa de Alencar, executive secretary of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Micro-enterprise and Small Business of Brazil.
Along the same lines, the president of Frutas de Chile, Iván Marambio, said that the Chile-Brazil connection and the image that exists of our country in that market is a key component when it comes to strengthening economic relations. "Brazilians have a very particular connection with Chile and the image of Chile in this country is very strong, for the fruit, for the wines, for our mountain range. We have a bond with Brazil that is very deep and that we are strengthening. This year we are seeing a 35% growth in our fruit exports, which opens up a world of opportunities," said Marambio.
"With this successful visit to Brazil we were able to confirm the importance of country image when we want to strengthen and deepen relations with other countries. And both Brazilians and Chileans concluded that, in order to deepen this bond that will benefit us both, it is necessary for Chileans to know more about Brazil and for Brazilians to know more about Chile. And this is a task of promoting the country's image. On the part of both", emphasized the executive director of Imagen de Chile, Rossana Dresdner, who presented in Sao Paulo an analysis of the country's image in the Brazilian market.
Chile Week Brazil also put on the table opportunities for collaboration in new areas: "Innovation, technology and sustainability are key issues. Chile has a very large know-how in technology, and this can be exploited in sectors such as food and services," said Selma Nunes, vice-president of the Chilean-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
From the energy sector, Lucas Ferraz, coordinator of the Center for Global Business Studies at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, said that "Brazil and Chile have everything to become major producers and suppliers of critical minerals for energy transition chains". In this context, opportunities in the energy field were discussed, where Chile and Brazil are emerging as key players in the transition to cleaner energy.
The presence of a delegation of more than30 small and medium-sized Chilean companies in Sao Paulo in search of business opportunities reaffirms the importance of a country brand and demonstrates how a positive image of Chile in Brazil and vice versa contributes to the strengthening of trade and cooperation in multiple sectors, projecting a future full of opportunities for both nations.