ABIMO and Apex-Brasil Create Brazilian Healthcare Products Export Brand

ABIMO (Sao Paulo, Brazil), the Brazilian industry association for laboratory, hospital, dental, and medical equipment, and Apex-Brasil (Brasilia DF, Brazil), a Brazilian agency that promotes the export of Brazilian goods and services, launched a brand that will represent Brazilian healthcare-industry products internationally.

Creation of the brand is the result of a project undertaken through a partnership between the two entities. The project has contributed to an increase of over 180% in the foreign sales of the industry segment over a span of seven years.

With the new brand, ABIMO and Apex-Brasil intend to present the capabilities of the Brazilian healthcare industry throughout the world. Together they plan to expand further the penetration of Brazilian healthcare products beyond the 180 countries in the five continents in which they are already present, aiming to increase progressively the export volume that has reached $633 million in 2010. Compared with 2009, export in 2010 grew by 17%; however, imports grew by 31.8% in the same period, indicating a 35.6% growth in the trade deficit for the sector. Given the $3.667 billion in imports, the trade gap in the sector remains substantial. With the new strategy, the project ambitiously plans to increase exports to $1 billion within the next five years. Presently, the United States is the largest buyer (22.4%) of Brazilian healthcare exports, followed by Argentina (9.1%), Venezuela (8.1%), and Mexico (6.0%).

In addition, ABIMO and Apex-Brasil are launching a Website directed at the export markets to support to Brazilian exporters. The site includes a version in Portuguese, which will provide information to the local industry, and a version in Spanish and English that includes industry data, news, and a search tool.

During the 12 years ABIMO has been active, the number of companies in the Brazilian healthcare sector grew by 49%, with their sales expanding 320%, from about $1 billion to in 1999 to $4.7 billion in 2010, indicating an effective growth of the markets supported by the entrepreneurial world of that segment.

Currently, 90% of the Brazilian healthcare industry operates with local capital and has the capacity to meet 90% of the demand of the Brazilian market. Most companies have been in operation for over 25 years--some over 50 years. The Brazilian healthcare manufacturing sector plays a fundamental role in the supply of the local market, not only assuring product availability at competitive costs, but in the main assuring access to advanced technologies. At present, 76% of the volume produced by the Brazilian healthcare industry occurs in local plants.

Related Links:
ABIMO
Apex-Brasil