Welcome to riches of Brazil

By TONY EDMONDS

I would not have mentioned that you can smell Sao Paulo before you actually see it, but an Australian living there said exactly the same thing. Australians can be so cynical.

To a moderately travelled New Zealander, Sao Paulo makes the eyes water: skyscrapers to the horizon in every direction. New Zealanders living there say it makes New York look like an average town.

Just when you expect the motorway to advance over the next ridge into farmland, another endless city skyline appears. The sight is overwhelming.

Sao Paulo is one of the largest cities in the world with a population believed to be over 20 million of Brazil's 170 million people. But nobody really knows. I met several locals who had never filled in a census form.

Experiencing the country even for a few days would force most New Zealanders to completely revise their impressions of Brazil - probably drawn from photos of Rio beaches, Barry Manilow at the Copa Cabana and stories of soccer stars risen from the slums.

Brazil is much more - more diverse, more educated, more developed and more wealthy.

The Portuguese claimed the country - at least its Atlantic coast - in 1500. In less than a century they slashed their way into the vast central plateau 1000m above sea level and established Sao Paulo.

They built the nation first with Brazil's timber exports, followed by sugar cane and coffee. They tried to force the native people into slavery but many chose death instead, and so they turned to Africa to find cheap labour.

The result is a population that blends the blood of these races along with that of many others - there are a million Japanese in Sao Paulo who have never seen Japan. They all get along in relative harmony.

But if Brazil is a picture of racial harmony, there is still an abundance of problems.

I was told there are 12,000 murders every year in Sao Paulo and at least one Kiwi has handed over his wristwatch at the traffic lights at 10 am with the encouragement of a .38 revolver.

Brazil takes up roughly half of the South American continent and its 27 states also make up half of the continent's GDP plus that of Mexico. The state of Sao Paulo alone has a GDP exceeding Argentina's.

Popular claims are that the city makes more Fiats than Italy and more VWs than Germany.

It is the world headquarters of Mercedes truck manufacture and is successfully competing with Canada in the manufacture of medium-sized passenger jet aircraft.

Kevin Smith, an Aucklander, was introduced to Brazil in the 1980s when he began exporting his liquid seaweed fertiliser, manufactured in Opotiki.

He has now lived in Brazil for 15 years, is fluent in Portuguese and has based his business in the economic heart of Sao Paulo.

It is now dedicated to importing electric components for the city's huge home appliance and automotive manufacturing industries.

New Zealand is now exporting $62.5 million of goods a year to Brazil. Figures for Argentina are $27 million and for Chile, $43 million.

Janette Malcolm, the Trade NZ regional director for South America and New Zealand's first consul-general in Brazil, says the country is still largely unexplored by New Zealand exporters.

She has moved her office from Santiago to Sao Paulo as part of a strategy to improve trading links.

In early May, she organised a festival of New Zealand films, which attracted much publicity.

"In this country, we can give you any market niche you want - two million, one million, 20 million," Janette Malcolm said.

"I think there is general acceptance that New Zealand has arrived in Brazil last. But it is certainly the biggest country of opportunity.

"Brazilian knowledge of New Zealand is still sketchy. They tend to link us with Australia, but we have a reputation for producing high quality and are indeed clean, green and uncorrupted."

Craig Bell, who manages the Dairy Board office in Sao Paulo and sells about $US35 million in milk ingredient products every year, endorses this.

"Brazil is full of opportunities but you have to evaluate it. The market is so huge you have to give it the necessary time to plan.

"Brazil is certainly a potential gold mine for New Zealand."

* Tony Edmonds is an Auckland PR and marketing consultant who has just returned from Sao Paulo.