Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC) announced plans to increase the country's exports, including finding new markets for Brazilian products around the globe.
"This is not only the government's plan," MDIC Minister Armando Monteiro Neto, was quoted by Agencia Brasil as saying. The MDIC official noted the national export plan is being prepared with the help of the private sector.
"More than fifty sectors of the economy were consulted. Workers and unions will also be heard," he stated.
According to Monteiro Neto, the government wants to strengthen its trade policies with countries which are in good economic situation, as well as those recovering from the 2008 global economic recession.
"We want a more active trade policy so that Brazil may diversify the destination of its exports and associate its trade flows to regions which are more actively economically," said Monteiro Neto.
Brazil has the seventh largest economy in the world by nominal GDP. Monteiro Neto said the government's plans to diversify the economy is a step in right direction. The government is also moving to curb the decline in Brazil's export revenue.
According to MDIC data, Brazil's trade balance for the first week in February saw exports at US$3.68 billion and imports of US$3.70 billion, leading to a negative trade balance of US$25 million. In comparison with the same period last year, exports declined by 7.7 percent.
The fall in exports was due to a reduction in the sales of staple goods abroad such as soybean grain and meal, cattle beefand iron ore, by nine percent.
Imports during the first week in February fell by 18 percent, mainly from a reduction in imports of vehicles and parts, fuel and lubricants and mechanical equipment.