Rio de Janeiro: Japanese car carriers NYK Lines and MOL have been suffering this year owing to "very strong" Brazilian currency, the Real, having a major impact on exports out of the South American country. And now Brazil's most powerful shippers group, Fiesp is lobbying Brasilia to take measures ?" such as curbs on foreign direct investment - to try and weaken the currency.
"It is a major menace to our exports," said Paulo Francini, the director for Economic Research Department at the Federation of Industries for the state of Sao Paulo (Fiesp), "and it is particularly a problem for our industrialised goods, especially in recent months, to our car and car parts export industries."
Denis Jorge, a ro-ro and logistics manager at NYK Lines in Brazil, said that he thought that the "over-valued" Real had had a major impact on exports this year.
"For the whole of this year car exports out of Brazil are down by between 40 and 50%," Jorge told SAO, "and some of that is due to the appreciating Real. At the moment it is very difficult to predict what the exchange rate and exports will be for next year."
NYK Line has two services from Brazil to North America and Mexico (calling at Houston and Veracruz) and these services have been hardest hit by the appreciation of the Real.
As well as NYK Line, other car carriers with ro-ro services to/from Brazil are Chilean flag carrier CSAV, Grimaldi, and Japanese flag carrier MOL Line. [21/12/09]
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