ABCC – South Australia Chapter : The year to date and what lies ahead

Since the South Australian Chapter of the Chamber was launched by His Excellency, Fernando de Mello Barreto, Ambassador for the Federative Republic of Brazil in May this year it has continued to promote the bilateral trade opportunities that exist for Brazilian and South Australian firms. This has been made more challenging by a lack of awareness among South Australian firms of the Brazilian market; however, the success of the launch and subsequent events has highlighted the level of South Australian interest in Brazil, and bodes well for the Chamber’s future in South Australia.

The Chamber in South Australia got off to a flying start with the launch receiving strong support from a variety of organisations including; Austrade, The Council for International Trade and Commerce South Australia (CITCSA), Angoves Winery and Adelaide United Football Club. The event was attended by more than 70 guests who represented a cross-section of South Australian business and included Adelaide United players; Diego Walsh and Fernando Rech, Terry Teoh (Development Manager at Pacific Hydro) and Professor John Taplin (Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) at the University of Adelaide). It was evident from the turnout that there is a strong interest in the activities of the Chamber and how South Australian organisations can become more involved in the Brazilian market.

In order to continue the momentum developed at the launch, the Chapter held a Mix@6 networking event in late June. This successful event allowed those who attended the launch event to further their connections and raised the profile of the Chamber as word of the Chamber’s activities spread.

The most recent event organised by the Chamber was a seminar, run in partnership with the Australia-Chile Chamber of Commerce (ACCC), which addressed the issues involved in conducting business with Brazil and Chile. Presentations from Harris Gomez, President of ACCC, Cristina Talacko, President of ABCC, and Trudy Elliot from Port of Melbourne Corporation, looked at these issues from a variety of perspectives thereby providing attendees with an insight into the concerns and opportunities of Latin American business that had here thereto been difficult to gain in South Australia. In addition to these presentations the seminar also allowed those who attended to direct questions to an expert panel including the presenters listed above, Jairo Kerr Azevedo (Managing Director of Opto Global/ABCC), Eduardo Donoso (Managing Director of Louminco/ACCC), and Maggie Farrell (Senior Trade Advisor at the Department of Economic Trade and Development). The questions and discussions that resulted from the panel interaction drew attention to the concerns that businesses have when dealing with Latin America, and not only allowed these concerns to be addressed, but also provided the Chamber with an indication of where our efforts should be directed. The success of the seminar lay not only in the assistance provided to the attendees, but also in the improved connection between the ABCC and ACCC in South Australia, a connection that we hope to further develop as both Chambers attempt to promote Latin American trade in South Australia.

The events held to date have been small, but have actively involved all those who have attended and have therefore strengthened the reputation of the Chamber within South Australian business circles. The Chamber in South Australia will continue to develop this reputation with its main focus being to increase awareness and knowledge within South Australia of the Brazilian market and in turn, increase knowledge and awareness of South Australia in Brazil, helping to forge partnerships between our countries. Given South Australia’s export strengths in wine, education, gourmet foods, agriculture, mining, and the water industry, there are many opportunities that can be leveraged and relationships built between our countries. Our efforts will therefore be focussed on these sectors of the economy to ensure that we have the greatest impact.

The Chamber’s South Australian representatives are currently in the planning stages for a number of seminars and events to be held in the New Year that will focus specifically on the identified areas of potential in South Australia. These include a seminar on education in Brazil, tentatively scheduled for February, which will aim to assist educational institutions in South Australia optimise there course offerings and marketing strategies to increase the number of Brazilian students coming to South Australia to complete their education. In addition to this there are plans to facilitate South Australian winery participation in Brazilian wine shows to highlight the quality that is on offer from the small boutique wineries, to the large international firms based here. We are also exploring the possibilities of bringing Brazilian wines to Australian shows. These examples mark the way ahead for the Chamber in South Australia, providing focussed support to member businesses to ensure they have what they need to approach the Brazilian market with full confidence in their knowledge of what lies ahead. The South Australian Chapter will also continue to grow its small but active member base through its popular networking events, hopefully with the participation of the other Latin American Chambers to maximise the networking potential.

Although the number South Australian companies that are currently engaged with the Brazilian market is small, there is a clear interest in the state’s industries to explore the possibilities that market engagement with Brazil has to offer; this provides both an opportunity and challenge for the Chamber to make a real difference to trade relationship between our countries.