Brasília, October 8, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - On Tuesday (7), the Ministry of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade installed the forum for competitiveness in the sector of cosmetics, personal hygience, and perfumes, in order to take advantage of the potentialities the sector offers on both domestic and foreign markets. The group, comprising over 30 representative entities and entrepreneurs, began their work with the challenge of creating 610 new jobs by 2010 and helping the beauty industry to achieve an average annual export growth rate of 18% in seven years, with an annual trade surplus of over US$ 450 million. The sector's current surplus amounts to US$ 180 million, annually.

According to the Minister of Development, Luiz Fernando Furlan, to attain these results, one of the paths will be through increased investment in products linked to Brazil's biodiversity. "We hope to provide leverage in an effort to establish rights to registrations, brands, and trademarks for a line of cosmetics, perfumes, and other products that come to be identified with Brazil," the Minister said. In his opinion, Brazil can no longer allow the country's biodiversity to bear more fruits for foreigners than for Brazilians themselves.

For the Brazilian Personal Hygiene, Perfume, and Cosmetics Industry Association (Abihpec), the sector has everything it needs to continue its success. Even with the stagnant economy, the beauty products industry is one of the fastest-growing segments in Brazil. In the first half of this year alone, the cosmetics industry grew over 16.3%, compared with the same period last year. Earnings amounted to R$ 4.8 billion. "If we obtain relief in the tax burden, our performance can be even greater," said the president of the Abihpec, João Carlos Basílio. (DAS)