São Paulo – Before leaving the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply this Wednesday (31st), Reinhold Stephanes gave an assessment of the progress that Brazilian agribusiness made in the international market over the last three years, during which he occupied the position of minister. According to a press release issued by the Ministry, Stephanes stated that Brazil presently accounts for nearly one quarter of international agricultural trade.
Stephanes, who left the position to run for Congress in the October elections, said that solving pending matters with Russia, China, the European Union, Chile and the United States was crucial in order for Brazilian exports to increase. Among the measures adopted, he cited a set of actions geared towards agricultural defence.
“That is not an easy task, given the size of the Brazilian territory and the requirements of consumer markets, some of which, by the way, are merely contrivances of trade,” claimed the former minister, according to the Ministry’s release.
He also underscored the sector’s resilience to the international financial crisis, stating that the country attained the highest rates of production and productivity. “The government intervened correctly, using adequate tools in order to provide liquidity to agricultural production, thus making up for the international market retraction, and the lack of financing and of future purchases,” he said.
Last year, Brazilian agribusiness exports resulted in revenues of US$ 64.7 billion, a 9.8% decline over 2008, according to figures supplied by the Ministry. The rate of decline, however, was lower than that of overall exports from Brazil, which dropped by 22.7%.
This year shipments have gone back to growth. In February, shipments totalled US$ 4.4 billion, representing growth of 20.6% over the same month of 2009.
Stephanes passed the position on to Wagner Rossi, who occupied the presidency of the National Food Supply Company (Conab), an organization linked to the Ministry of Agriculture.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
