The relations between Sweden and Brazil date back to the past and has developed over time: once Brazil declared its independence in 1822, Sweden already had a general consul working in the country. Now a days, Brazil is the top destination for Swedish exports in Latin America. Machines are the most frequently exported Swedish product to the country. Primary resources such as minerals and agricultural products are the most significant products in the Brazilian portfolio for Sweden.
Famous Swedish multinational companies such as Volvo, Scania, Ericsson, Electrolux, SKF, ABB, SAAB, Tetra Pak, Atlas Copco and Sandvik; as well as many pioneering global innovative service companies, such as Spotify, are present in the Brazilian market. Brazil has more than 200 companies related to Sweden. São Paulo, home to most of them, would be considered the second most important industrial city in Sweden, second to Gothenburg, home to giants like Volvo and SKF.
The main activities of Sweden’s multinationals in Brazil are in the engineering and automotive sectors, but also life sciences, communications and information technology, mining and consulting markets are strategic for business.
Swedish Industry Milestones in Brazil
1800 | Export of wood and iron to Brazil. Imports of coffee and sugar cane to Sweden.
1850 | Brazil establishes itself as one of the four top importers in Sweden.
1891 | Ericsson installs the first Swedish telephone in Brazil, at the Emperor Dom Pedro II Residence, in Rio de Janeiro.
1892 | Telefonaktiebolaget L. M. Ericsson begins operations in Brazil.
1908 | Swedish shipping company Axel Johnson opens Nordstjernan, a direct line to Brazil.
1908 | Swedish Skanska cement is used in the construction of Cristo Redentor, in Rio de Janeiro.
1908 | Herman Theodor Lundgren opens the first store of the Pernambucanas chain in Brazil.
1912 | ABB supplies the electrical equipment for one of the postcards of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil: the Bondinho do Pão de Açúcar.
1915 | AGA (inventor of automatic headlights, now Linde) and SKF (inventor and world leader in rolling bearings) enter the Brazilian market.
1924 | Sociedade Ericsson do Brasil Ltda is founded in Rio de Janeiro.
1926 | Electrolux enters the Brazilian market.
1953 | Swedish-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce is established in São Paulo.
1955 | Atlas Copco enters the Brazilian market.
1957 | Scania builds its first factory in the city of São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo.
1957 | Tetra Pak enters the Brazilian market just six years after its founding in Sweden.
1970 | Volvo opens its first plant in Brazil, in Curitiba, Paraná.
1970s | Sandvik enters the Brazilian market.
1984 | Agreement on Economic, Industrial and Technological Cooperation is signed and Joint Bilateral Commission is created during the State Visit of King Carl XVI Gustav and Queen Silvia to Brazil.
2007 | Luis Inácio Lula da Silva makes the first official visit of a Brazilian Head of State to Sweden.
2009 | On a new official visit to Sweden, President Lula signs a Strategic Partnership a mechanism to guide trade cooperation and investments, bioenergy, defense, environment, science, technology and innovation, education and culture.
2012 | King Carl XVI of Sweden and Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt participate in the Rio + 20 Conference, in Rio de Janeiro.
2012 | Ericsson opens an information technology development center in the São José dos Campos Technological Park.
2013 | Brazil announces Gripen NG as its next-generation fighter jet.
2014 | Brazil signs a contract with SAAB for the acquisition and production of 36 Gripen NG fighters.
2015 | Stefan Löfven, Prime Minister of Sweden, accompanies the inauguration of President Dilma Rousseff in Brazil.
2015 | On an official visit, President Dilma Rousseff renews the Sweden-Brazil Strategic Partnership and visits the SAAB plant in Linköping to learn more about the manufacture of the Gripen NG fighter jets.
2015 | Mikael Damberg, Swedish Minister for Trade, Industry and Innovation visits Brazil and proposes new strategic partnerships in the areas of industrial technology, innovation, research and development.
2017 | On an official visit, King Carl XVI of Sweden takes part in the Sweden-Brazil Business Leaders Forum in São Paulo.
2019 | Nordic SEB Conference of CEOs brings together in São Paulo the largest Nordic delegation of entrepreneurs in Latin America.
2019 | Brazil and Sweden sign the Amendment Protocol to the Convention to Avoid Double Taxation in Matters of Income Taxes.