Pharmaceuticals

What Brazil buys

Brazil imported US$14.5 billion of pharmaceutical products (HS 30) in 2025 (ComexStat, 2025). Bangladesh exported US$238.5 million of medicines to the world (EPB, FY2025-26), but its sales to Brazil are still very small. The gap reflects regulation more than demand: the Brazilian market opens product by product, as each medicine is registered, so the first task is to choose which products to register and with whom.

Rules to know

A medicine can be sold in Brazil only once it is registered with ANVISA, the national health regulator, through a Brazilian company authorised by ANVISA that holds the registration (RDC 948/2024). The holder can be the maker's own unit in Brazil or an authorised Brazilian distributor, and timelines vary case by case. Only ANVISA-authorised companies may import regulated goods (RDC 81/2008). Import duty on medicines in retail packs ranges from 0% to 12.6% depending on the product, and many specific medicines are at 0% under Brazil's exception list (Camex tariff schedule, Oct 2026). PIS/COFINS-Importação on pharmaceuticals uses special rates.

The fair has its own limits. Unregistered medicines cannot be shown at a Brazilian fair, samples of regulated products may not be sold, and unregistered medical devices need ANVISA's approval about three months ahead and must be re-exported afterwards.

How to win Brazilian buyers

Exhibit your capability rather than your packs. Bring registration dossiers, GMP certificates, product lists and plant videos instead of samples. The buyers to look for are distributors and companies able to act as registration holders, because they carry each product through ANVISA. Be ready to discuss which molecules you would register first and how you would share the cost and time of registration. There is a precedent: BBCCI reports that at the 2025 edition a Bangladeshi pharmaceutical company signed a distribution memorandum with a São Paulo health distributor.