Brazil''''s booming economy continues to spur consumer demand

ASIAN containerised exports to Brazil have soared by 213 per cent over the past five years, and are expected to grow a further 32 per cent in 2008, as the Brazilian economy continues to boom on the back of strong domestic consumption and the global demand for commodities.

In 2007, Brazil, one of the so-called BRIC economies of the world, posted a record import figure of 489,000 TEU from Asia, and that number is expected to reach roughly 650,000 TEU this year, aided largely by increasing household incomes, declining unemployment and a stronger Brazilian Real.