Brazilian disease is a phrase in
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
to describe the situation in which the
Brazilian real
The Brazilian real (plural, pl. '; currency symbol, sign: R$; ISO 4217, code: BRL) is the official currency of Brazil. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. The Central Bank of Brazil is the central bank and the issuing authority. The real repl ...
has strengthened (trading a
around R$1.95to the
US dollar
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
) on high prices for commodities such as
soybean
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses.
Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...
s, making Brazilian exports of
manufactured goods
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a range ...
uncompetitive in foreign markets.
The term was coined to compare the economic situation facing Brazilian exports in the late 2000s to
Dutch disease
In economics, the Dutch disease is the apparent causal relationship between the increase in the economic development of a specific sector (for example natural resources) and a decline in other sectors (like the manufacturing sector or agricultur ...
, an older term referring to similar conditions faced in
the Netherlands
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in the 1960s and 1970s due to massive
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
exports. The term "Brazilian disease" has not been widely used in economic literature or the news media.
See also
*
Dutch disease
In economics, the Dutch disease is the apparent causal relationship between the increase in the economic development of a specific sector (for example natural resources) and a decline in other sectors (like the manufacturing sector or agricultur ...
*
Brazil Cost Brazil cost ( pt, Custo Brasil ) refers to the increased operational costs associated with doing business in Brazil, making Brazilian goods and services more expensive compared to other countries. There are several factors that contribute to the ext ...
References
Foreign trade of Brazil
Currencies of Brazil
Economics catchphrases
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