Brazil's postal service inks deal with Shopee to sell products to Asia

(Reuters) - Brazil's postal service Correios said on Wednesday it has signed an agreement with Singaporean shopping app Shopee to boost exports of Brazilian products to Southeast Asian markets.

Shopee, owned by Southeast Asian tech giant Sea, signed a memorandum of understanding with Correios, along with the Brazilian Agency for the Promotion of Exports and Investments (ApexBrasil).

The deal aims to help small and medium companies from Brazil export to countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand.

The trade bloc known as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a key partner for the Brazilian economy, with a trade flow of $16.6 billion in the first half of 2022, up 21.3% compared to the same period in 2021, according to the latest data from ApexBrasil.

The agreement will offer training for companies, as well as "support for strategic and adequate operation on the Shopee platform" and assistance from Correios with shipping and distribution logistics, Brazil's postal service said in a statement, adding it expects exports to start this year.

With the agreement, companies "with good products and a huge potential" will gain the know-how and access to these markets needed start the export process, said Eduardo Terra, president of the Brazilian Society of Retail and Consumption.

The move follows last year's announcement from Shopee that it had opened five new distribution centers in Brazil. The app has become one of the country's most-downloaded e-commerce apps since its launch there in 2019, drawing users to its low-cost marketplace.

(Reporting by Carolina Pulice in Mexico City; Editing by Jamie Freed)