Agência Brasil*
Brasília – The crisis lived by the agricultural sector over the last two years should not be repeated in 2007, believes the minister of Agriculture of Brazil, Luiz Carlos Guedes. The forecast, based on the expansion of the cultivated area and on the increase of sales of inputs in recent months, is for crop growth of 1% to 2%. "Fortunately, due to a set of factors, it is possible to say that at the end of 2006 the recovery of the sector is clear. In this sense, our expectation is that 2007 will be a very positive year for Brazilian agriculture," he said on Wednesday (6).
Over the last two years, the agricultural sector has lived one of its worst crises caused by droughts in 2004 e 2005, reductions in international prices of the main products Brazil exports and the appreciation of the Brazilian real against the dollar, which caused a reduction in the income of producers. According to the minister, financial aid provided by the federal government is one of the factors that are permitting the recovery of the sector. "There was support of the federal government with extension of debts of up to R$ 20 million (US$ 9.3 million) and the significant support to the trade of agricultural products," recalled the minister.
*Translated by Mark Ament
