Brasilia – Kátia Abreu, minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply, said this Friday (13th) that, even if there’s na increase in interest rates within Plano Safra (Crop Plan) 2015/2016, “nothing will be done to make agriculture unfeasible”. The minister avoided answering if there will be an increase in interest rates and if it will be higher than last year’s, when interest rates within the program went up one percentage point on average.
“We are aware of how quick agriculture reacts to the economy, jobs, imports. I am very calm when it comes to the volume and interest rates that we will be applying in the next crop. I can’t answer [about interest rates going up], we will have the proper moment, which will be the launch of the plan”, she said.
Kátia Abreu answered the press after attending the 4th Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture and Agrarian Development of the Brics, the bloc that includes the five main emerging countries: Brazil, India, China, Russia and South Africa.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
