Luiz Fernando Furlan, Brazilian Minister of Development, Trade and Industry, to visit Finland

Press Release 167/2004
17 August 2004


Luiz Fernando, the Minister of Development, Trade and Industry for Brazil, will visit Finland on 19–20 August at the invitation of Paula Lehtomäki, Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development. The main topics of discussion during Minister Furlan’s visit are negotiations between the European Union and Mercosur, economic and trade relations between Finland and Brazil as well as other current international issues.

During his visit, Minister Furlan will have talks with Minister Lehtomäki; he will also meet with Erkki Tuomioja, Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Erkki Virtanen, Permanent Secretary at the Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry. In addition, Minister Furlan’s agenda includes meetings and talks with Finnish corporate representatives.

Bilateral trade between Finland and Brazil has increased in the last few years, especially Finnish exports to Brazil. The balance of trade, which in recent years had shown a surplus for Finland, was more or less even in 2003. Finland’s most important export products in 2003 were machinery and equipment, and telecommunications products. As to imports, the bulk consisted of raw materials and fuels such as kaoline and raw nickel matte, and foodstuffs such as coffee and beef. The deal, announced in July, that Finnair is to purchase 12 new passenger aircraft from the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer marked a new opening for imports from Brazil.

Finnish investments in Brazil have risen in the past few years. The oldest production investment in Latin America was the Valmet/Valtra tractor factory, which has since transferred to American ownership. Nokia has a mobile phone plant in Manaus. In cooperation with the Brazilian company Aracruz Celulose, Stora Enso is now building a new bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp mill at Veracel, in the Brazilian state of Bahia. The mill will be the world’s largest of its kind. Other companies with production plants in Brazil include Andriz-Ahlström, Huhtamäki, Jaakko Pöyry, Metso, Outokumpu, Partek, Perlos, PKC Group and Savcor. Finnish companies have a total of 40 subsidiaries in Brazil. In 2003 their joint turnover was many times greater than the total value of exports from Finland.

Finpro opened its Finland Trade Center in São Paulo in 1996; in August 2002 the center moved to the city of São José dos Campos. Finpro’s Finland Trade Center in Brazil concentrates on the forest industry, telecommuications, mining and metallurgy and on technology for healthcare, the foods industry and the environment.

Brazil and Finland signed an investment protection agreement in 1995; the agreement has been ratified by the Finnish Parliament but not yet by Brazil. A taxation agreement came into force in December 1997, an agreement making visas unnecessary in 1969, an agreement on trainee exchange in 1974, an agreement on scientific and technological cooperation in 1981 and a cultural agreement in 1988.

Additional information: Counsellor Hannele Tikanvaara, Unit for Latin America and the Caribbean, Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +3589 160 55658