Brasília, November 21, 2002 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - With a 30% increase in its exports over the last three years, the furniture sector was picked for the first sectorial Foreign Trade Meeting (Encomex), initiated today in São Paulo. After traveling through all the states, the Encomex's are now going to make an effort to generate an export culture in specific sectors.

The furniture sector was chosen for its large growth potential, since the number of firms that export has grown 121% since 1999. "This growth is an example for other sectors. We must diversify our list, in which only 25 items are currently responsible for more than half the exports, as well as create new markets," said the deputy secretary of Foreign Trade, Ivan Ramalho. In his view, the sector, which exported US$ 440 million between January and October, has been conquering an important place on the Brazilian list.

Ramalho commemorated the growth of exports to non-traditional markets, such as China, India, and the Arab countries. "We stopped exporting around US$ 3 billion to Argentina, but we grew, in some instances, more than 100% in new markets. Besides this, we had a 5% increase in exports to the United States, even though their overall imports fell 6%," the secretary said. (DAS)