WorldCity, Annual Report: No. 21 Brazil- Timber products play role | Connecting Local Business Leaders To The Global Economy

Annual Report: No. 21 Brazil- Timber products play role

June 15th, 2006

Wood in its many forms – from pulp for paper making to furniture – played a key role in Georgia’s trade with Brazil.

Brazil may have a worldwide reputation for its hardwoods, but there are wood-derived products it must import. And that’s where Georgia comes in.

Georgia shipped $19 million in chemical wood pulp to South America’s largest country in 2005. That was a 54 percent increase compared with the value of shipments in 2004. Wood pulp is used in paper manufacturing.

Other paper-related exports – including kraft paper, paperboard, pulp fibers and other wood pulp categories – totaled $60 million.

Rank	Top Georgia exports to Brazil	Value	Change
	Total all commodities	$251,910,398.00	30.40%
1	Chemical wood pulp	$19,027,348.00	53.60%
2	Wood pulp from mechanical/chemical pulp processes	$16,726,812.00	50.40%
3	Engine parts	$12,378,125.00	183.70%
4	Acrylic polymers in primary forms	$8,475,945.00	168.10%
5	Motor vehicle parts	$7,751,969.00	458.80%

Overall, Georgia’s exports to Brazil grew by nearly a third to end 2005 at $252 million. That came in a year that saw Georgia and Brazil exchange more than $908 million in products,

Airplane engines also appeared high on the export list as Georgia sent $12 million in jet turbines to Brazil, a 184 percent jump from 2004.

Just like exports, Georgia’s imports from the South American country were also on the rise, gaining 24 percent to total $657 million.

Rank	Top Georgia imports from Brazil	Value	Change
	Total all commodities	$656,760,252.00	23.50%
1	Self-propelled heavy construction machinery	$44,443,576.00	56.70%
2	Wood, sawed or chipped, greater than 6 meters thick	$43,650,213.00	16.40%
3	Iron and steel bars and rods	$36,233,382.00	134.60%
4	Motorcycles, mopeds & other cycles with auxiliary motors	$34,525,273.00	8.20%
5	Cane, beet sugar, solid form	$32,830,612.00	24.20%

Construction machinery was the leading import, exceeding $44 million in 2005, compared with $28 million in 2004. And just as Georgia exported wood pulp, it imported wood and wood chips from Brazil. Those shipments rose more than 16 percent to total $37 million. Other wood-related imports included $25 million in plywood, nearly $25 million in furniture and close to $20 million in doors and windows.

Georgia also imports Brazilian iron and steel bars. Those imports increased by 135 percent to close the year at $36 million.