International Visions : Brazil

Brazil : First Impressions

What comes to our mind when we think of Brazil? The Great beaches of the country. A care free country with luxury and life flowing each moment. We think of the great Rio carnival, the biggest of its kind in the world. We think if the adventurous and mysterious Amazon. The unexplored brazil is one of the most intriguing destinations to a common man.

What does Brazil have in store for the businessmen? Brazil is considered a part of BRICS, one of the fastest growing economies of the world. It is a strong economy based on internal production as well as exports. It is becoming self sustainable and believed to be one of the best destinations to invest in. There are a number of industries in Brazil that are growing very fast.

Brazil is a country of mixed cultures and tastes.  With five heterogeneous regions, Brazil is a country with diverse and deep-rooted ceramic and artistic tradition. Marajoara ceramic pottery is a good example of genuine Brazilian way to deal with ceramic tile.  Brazilian companies produce a large variety of textures, shapes and models of ceramic tile - mosaics, large formats, irregular finishes with a great variety of colors from fundamental to lively.

This issue, the Build Avenue team has planned to continue the International Focus section with Brazil. We are sure it will be a delight for a number of readers and will pose a challenge for many as Brazil is standing out as a consistent competition to Indian ceramic industry.

Short History:

Brazil ceramic is believed to have started as sophisticated Marajoara Pottery from cultures on Marajo Island in Brazil. It is largely human and animal reliefs decorated with paintings. There are many statues, and other object made from ceramic then known as pottery. There are findings of cerved stone amulets called muirquitas.

In the beginning of the 21st century, the ancient Indian traditions of body painting, pottery, cult statuettes, and feather art are still being cultivated by the remaining Indian peoples.

Brazils history has been influenced by Portuguese culture since its colonial presence. Most of the earlier ceramic artifacts, decorations and utensils all have a strong Portuguese base. The influence in evident in many of the historic sites in Brazil.

Brazil’s growth in ceramic sector has been gradual and smooth. It does not have any huge spikes till the turn of the century. Brazil has come into limelight in the ceramic industry since the last decade.

It had many small and medium manufacturers of ceramic goods largely tile manufacturers. The association Anfacer, the National Association of Brazilian Manufacturers of Ceramic Tile, was established in 1983, which has catalyzed the growth of Brazil Ceramic Industry and promoted its products globally. It played a vital role in modernizing educating and improving the quality of ceramic goods of brazil.

In the late 20^th century the development picked up speed. This was the period when global transformations were on the rise. Smaller and weaker countries were getting stronger account of globalization and education. With the knowledge flowing in all direction and freely, Brazil could get access to knowledge as well as technology to boost their production as well as quality.

The year 1998 saw a growth of 4.5 % approx over the previous year. The export was a proud USD 155 Million, which was highest for any year. This period saw the currency of Brazil fluctuating and witnessed political uncertainties. This however, did not deter the ceramic tile manufacturers. Their growth continued. The growth was on multiple facets, technology, quality volumes and range.

Since 1998, the industry in one of the largest employment generators. Direct and indirect employment are consistently on a rise.  

The Exports

Brazil is regarded as the biggest exporter of ceramic tiles in this period. The reason is their access to the south American Markets as well as the huge demand of the North American markets. The flooring replacements towards Ceramic has become a trend in the last century and it has enabled Brazil to grow many folds in the turn of the century.

In terms of quality, Brazil is considered to be better than China. It is also regarded as better than India in technology and commitment of delivery. With its vicinity to the Vast South American Market today with very small competition, they are the largest manufacturers of ceramic goods on their side of the hemisphere, even overtaking their European counterparts.

Domestic Consumption

Surprisingly, since 2004, the production has increased, but the exports have diminished. This is largely due to the fact that the domestic needs have increased and the purchasing power of the consumers have grown. This coupled with better living standards and development being extremely fast, the Brazilian ceramic industry is focusing on the domestic supply.

This however, can be considered a small erratic behavior. With expanding capacities, better and faster technologies. The expertise over variety of goods and availability of labor all are adding to the volumes of production. It will be not long before the Brazilians recapture the international markets.

In the end, just to highlight the strength of Brazilian Ceramic industry, here is a small news piece.