CNI: Sector is concerned about increasing loss of competitiveness

In an interview with CNN Brasil, the president of the CNI (National Confederation of Industry), Ricardo Alban, stated that he is "very concerned" about the constant loss of competitiveness of the Brazilian productive sector in the face of the advancement of other markets.

Alban's assessment is that, although Brazil still presents strategic advantages, especially in the energy area, the business environment continues to be hampered by the so-called "Brazil Cost" - a term used to define the set of structural, bureaucratic and economic difficulties, due to the high burden of charges and the difficulty in technological and productive advancement.

"I was in the United States, Germany, Italy and, recently, also in China, and during these visits I noticed a growing loss of competitiveness", said Alban.

The sector also looks forward to the expansion of trade relations between Mercosur and the EU (European Union), considered a relevant opportunity for market opening.

"At the same time, Mercosur with the EU allows us to open up a significant market. But it needs to be a market in which we can introduce production chains in certain sectors, in a kind of win-win, where we can add part of the value here and another part to our competitors", he explained.

Despite this potential, businesspeople point out that Brazil faces difficulties in keeping up with international competition.

Among the main challenges cited by the president of the CNI are high production costs, especially related to energy, in addition to the weight of social and tax charges.

Also according to Alban, the situation becomes more worrying given the movement of companies that have migrated their operations to neighboring countries in search of more competitive conditions.

"We are working against the current", he says.

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Source: CNN