20 Largest Importers in Brazil - Part 2

Rebeca Duran

Staff Writer
The Brazil Business

Updated

11 February 2014

In "20 Largest Importers in Brazil - Part 1" you found out about the ten companies that imported the most in Brazil in 2013, this article will finish the rest of that list: which companies they are, what they imported and how much.

11) Renault

Renault do Brasil Automoveis, is the Brazilian subsidiary of Renault, the French car manufacturer. The company was established in the country in 1997, and since then has conquered more space in the Brazilian market. For example, in 2012 the second largest market of Renault in the world was Brazil. Although the automaker has production factories in the country, Renault still depends on imports of vehicles and of pieces and car components as well.

12) General Motors

General Motors do Brazil, is the largest South American subsidiary of General Motors and the second largest outside of the United States. The company has been actuating in the country for more than 80 years. When the company first reached Brazil, its activities were only designated for car assembly, with parts and components imported from United States.

Years passed, and the factories of GM were launched in the country. But even with these factories, the number of imports per year from the company are still large. For example, in 2012 more than 913,351 cars were imported to Brazil, among them was Agile, a GM model that's very popular in the country.

The model is imported from Argentina and then commercialized in Brazilian lands. In 2012, 54,051 unities of Agile were sold in Brazil, which represented 1.5% of the total imports in the country.

13) Fiat

O Fiat 147 was the first car produced in Brazil by the Italian automaker Fiat, in 1976. The company has been actuating in the country for more than 35 years and is the most famous and consumed foreign automaker in Brazil. In 2013, the company announced a new investment plan that aimed to invest in the Brazilian production of cars, trucks, combines, car pieces and engines.

The investments were up to 15 billion BRL until the end of 2016 and has a main function to diminish the importation of these products to Brazil. By 2013, Fiat was put in the 13º position of the largest importers of that year in Brazil, but the investment plan was still in practice and progressing. Maybe in the future the company will be able to export more of its Brazilian productions than importing pieces for them.

14) Paranapanema

The Brazilian Paranapanema S.A. is the largest producer of copper in Brazil, supplying 60% of the national demand of this product. The company informs that consumes about 700 tons per year of copper sulphide, being 80% of this amount imported from other countries.

There is a domestic production of copper sulphide, but it is insufficient to supply the Brazilian demand. The product is mainly imported by Paranapanema from countries like Chile and Peru for the production of copper cathodes.

15) Basf

Basf is a German chemical company, that works supplying formulations and chemical systems for the construction industry. The company started its commercial activities in South America in 1911, but only in 1955 the company decided to established a production unit in Brazil. Since then, Basf had increased more and more of his activities in the country.

To supply the Brazilian biodiesel sector Basf import methylate. The quantity imported is equivalent to 40% of the South American market, which explains the 15º position of the company in the rank of the largest importers of 2013.

16) Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of vehicles, the company was born in 1924. With investments of approximately 500 million BRL and the creation of thousands of direct jobs, the new factory of Mercedes-Benz in Brazil will be the tenth to open in the country, after the release of the Incentive Program Inovar-Auto.

Inovar Auto is a Government program that aims to enlarge the national production of vehicles and diminishes the car and its components imports in Brazil. The new factory will come into operation in 2016. By 2013, the company was ranked in the 16º position of the largest imports in Brazil.

17) Honda

Honda is a vehicle manufacturer headquarted in Japan, but spread throughout the world, including Brazil, where the comopany first opened its doors in 1971. By that time, the company worked only as an importer and distributor of the Japanese cars. In 1974 the company constructed in Brazil its first motorcycle fabric.

The company then started to produce vehicles in the country and continues to do that nowadays. Just like many vehicle manufacturers established in Brazil, Honda also imports vehicles from other American countries and then sells them in Brazil.

18) Bayer

Bayer Group was founded in 1863 in Germany and is now one of the most important and respected international industries, offering a wide range of products and services linked to the fields of health, agriculture and innovative materials.

In Brazil, the company has been actuating since in 1911 in Rio de Janeiro. The first Brazilian Bayer unit's main function was to distribute its products in the country. Nowadays the company is very established in the country and is one of the largest importers of 2013 in Brazil.

19) CNH na Latin America

CNH Latin America LTDA is a subsidiary of the Industrial N.V., a company composed by the incorporation in 2012 of Fiat Industrial S.p.A. and CNH Global N.V. CNH Latin America is a limited partnership headquarted in Contagem (Minas Gerais). The company also has units in São Paulo and Paraná.

The company's main activities are the production of machinery for land-moving and for agricultural practices. The company also produces machinery for civil constructions, being a large importer of pieces and compounds for the production of its machines.

20) Fertilizantes Heringer

Today, Brazil is a major producer and exporter of agricultural products, being the world's largest producer of orange juice, coffee, and sugar; and the second largest producer of soybeans. Brazilian agribusiness is a major source of income in the country and one of the most important sectors of the economy.

Fertilizers of mineral or organic compounds that aim to supply the deficiencies to the survival of plants, are very important products for the success of Brazilian agribusiness. Fertilizers Heringer is a Brazilian fertilizer company that is in activity since 1968. It's one of the largest in the country, but the company still needs to import raw materials for the creation of its products.