Brazil is one of the markets in Latin America that companies from around the world have viewed with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety. The company's population, high level of education, and relatively stable political environment present an attractive opportunity to those companies who want to export goods to Brazil, but until recently, the country's internal economic environment was highly volatile and not conducive to long-term market growth. Following dramatic economic reform in the last several years, the country has emerged as a strong market which enjoys foreign trade with the United States, Asia and Europe: the United States received 19 percent of the nation's exported goods in 1996, and was responsible for 25 percent of the goods imported to Brazil during the same year. This research considers how one company might approach the issue of exporting surgical gloves to Brazil, including the external environment and marketing considerations the company needs to take into account.
Surgical gloves (also called examination gloves) are made from latex and represent a significant non-tire use for natural rubber. These gloves are designed to be used once and then thrown away; they have become popular in even casual medical procedures (such as dental visits) with the onset of the AIDS epidemic as healthcare workers seek to protect themselves from the AIDS virus as well as from other diseases. Surgical gloves are manufactured by only a few companies worldwide, and are a low-ticket item. Because they are disposed of after only one use, however, they have a built-in demand cycle which is attractive. Surgical gloves also have a market in electronics and computer industries, although much smaller than that in the medical and healthcare industries. Today, surgical gloves represent a significant market for natural rubber as demand for these items has increased over the past ten years, with a particular demand in developing nation...