President of the Nigerian-Brazilian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Areoye Oyebola has said that the chamber would step up activities in his tenure to strengthen the economic ties between Nigeria and Brazil.
Mr. Oyebola said that Brazil is relatively technologically advanced and would benefit Nigerian businessmen to enter into joint ventures with the Brazilians. According to the one time editor of the Daily Times, Brazil has the biggest electricity supply in the world. Brazil, he continued, is highly industrialised with heavy machinery and industries in the field of ship building plane manufacturing, paper and pulp factories.
According to Oyebola, it is wrong to assume that Brazil is the most indebted nation in the world. Brazil, he said judiciously utilised its loans in capital ventures.
Oyebola, also said that most goods packaged in Europe are made in Brazil but are imported by European merchants, rebagged and exported to third world countries.
By strengthening ties with Brazil, the Nigerian business community would have the opportunity to import direct from Brazil.
On the trade imbalance between Nigeria and Brazil, Oyebola said it is not a permanent feature, only fluctuating sometimes in favour of Nigeria and some other times in favour of Brazil. He said that the chamber was planning a trade mission to Brazil to explore other export possibilities in the Brazilian market.
On the deregulation of interest rates, Oyebola said it would have adverse effects on local industries.
Many more industries would be forced he said would result in a chain of economic reechain of economic reactions that would further compound the problems of our economy.
Government, he said should as a matter of urgency reconsider the issue and review its stand.
