Mexico has not complied with USA demands regarding the ban on GMO corn
Exported 632 thousand tonnes of beef in 2022, totaling US$ 3.454 billion, a growth of 24% compared to 2021. China is still the main export destination, representing 77.6% of the total. (Consortium of Meat Exporters from Argentina)
Government raised prices of ethanol made from sugarcane and corn, used in the compulsory blend of gasoline sold in the country. New value for both biofuels was set at approximately US$ 0.70, an increase of almost 5%. (Ministry of Economy)
Government invested US$ 550 million for the construction of 33 plants, including fertilizer manufacturing and oil extraction sites for the production of biodiesel. (Ministry of Rural Development)
China imported US$ 58.8 billion in Brazilian agribusiness products in 2022. Value is 43.3% higher than in 2021 and almost double what was registered just five years ago. Total shipments to China represented 31.9% of all agricultural exports in the period. (Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock)
Unicamp created a software that allows detection of pesticides in food. In tests carried out with tomatoes, it was concluded that around 30% of the fruits certified as organic contain traces of chemical residues. (Campinas State University)
Demand for rural insurance has tripled in the past five years. Farmers are looking for more protection after the weather adversities that affected the recent harvests. The government subsidy to the rural insurance premium has increased in recent years and allowed the market to grow, stimulating contracts. The indicator of increased demand is the collection of rural insurance, that reached US$ 2.48 billion between January and November 2022, an increase of 40% compared to 2021. (National Confederation of Insurance Companies)
Minerva’s unit located in Janaúba, State of Minas Gerais, was authorized to export beef to Indonesia. Now the company has six units authorized to export to the Asian country, with a total slaughtering capacity of almost 8,000 cattle heads/day. “With approximately 275 million inhabitants, Indonesia stands out as one of the largest markets for Halal meat in the world…”, the company said in a statement. (Minerva Foods)
Climate harms agricultural production in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, that already faces irreversible losses in the 2022/23 season. Temperatures can exceed 40ºC in some areas of the State. (MetSul)
After a meeting with the president of Uruguay, president Lula said it was possible to create a trade agreement between Mercosur and China. The president also promised to resume the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, calling it urgent, and pledged to discuss a renewal of Mercosur, one of Uruguay’s demands. (Mercopress)
Sindicarne – PR warns about high production costs, reduced cattle supply, low domestic demand and the prospect of increased taxation. The union, that represents beef and pork companies in the State of Paraná, said that the closure of a Big Boi meatpacking facility in early January was the latest blow to the sector. According to Sindicarne, the slaughter volume in the State of Paraná fell from 835,000 head of cattle in 2019 to 695,000 in 2021, a 17% decrease. Five years ago, cattle slaughter exceeded 1 million heads/year. (Sindicarne – PR)
Average productivity of coffee farms, including Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora, is estimated at approximately 28.9 bags/hectare. Total harvest should reach 54.94 million 60kg bags, in an area of 1.9 million hectares. (Conab)
Nilson Leitão was reelected as president of Instituto Pensar Agropecuária. Upon taking office, Leitão highlighted the importance of the entity in the debate of agribusiness agendas in the National Congress, in 2023. (IPA)
Cherry exports to China should reach 85 to 86 million boxes. Until January 15th, 79.8 million cherry boxes were exported . (Decofrut)
Announcement of continuity of credit for the program “Planting Working Capital for Chile”, for the 2023/24 season, that has already financed 4,693 farmers in 2022, in the total amount of US$ 131.7 million. The goal is to mitigate the general increase in prices of agricultural products and inputs. (Minagri)
Government announced on January 23rd that it is seeking for vaccines in the international market to fight the outbreak of avian influenza, that since November 2022 has affected several farms in the country. (Ministry of Agriculture)
Mexico has not complied with USA demands regarding the ban on GMO corn imports. “ We appreciate our Mexican counterparts’ time and dedication in trying to hammer out a solution. We made it clear today that if this issue is not resolved, we will consider all options, including taking formal steps to enforce our rights under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement…”, said the chief US agricultural negotiator, Doug McKalip, and the under secretary of agriculture, Alexis Taylor. According to their statement, Mexico has made some changes related to the prohibition, but “these changes are not sufficient.” (Office of the United States Trade Representative)
The country will not be able to replace all the corn it imports until 2024, according to the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Victor Suarez, but he estimates that they will reduce purchases by 30% and 40%. “We are not going to be able to grow another 16 million tonnes of corn, that are currently imported for livestock,” said Suarez. (Department of Agriculture)
Soybean farms suffered development losses as a result of the low rainfall in December. Production estimates were lowered to 8.4 million tonnes, down 1.4 million. According to Dasagro’s director and partner, Esther Storch, this will be a season with high yield variation. According to Storch, 20% of the area will produce only 29.16 bags/ha, 50% of what was planted will be around 46.66 bags/ha and the remaining 30% could reach up to 58.33 bags/ha. (Dasagro)
Citrus farmers consider migrating to other export crops. The change is justified by the low profitability and adverse circumstances mainly faced by exporters of tangerine and orange. In 2022, the sector presented the first reduction in shipments after 15 years of growth. According to the Association of Citrus Farmers, farmers plan to reduce their cultivated areas by 8%, on average. (Procitrus)
Amid political tensions, the Association of Table Grapes Farmers of Peru declared support for democracy and the current president of the Republic. “The Peruvian table grape industry directly and indirectly employs over 100,000 people. Because of the events that have been affecting our country’s peace since December 7th, 2022, these jobs are at risk of being lost”, warned the union. (Provid)
Ministry of Agriculture extends the state of agricultural emergency until April 2023, because of the drought. A loss of at least 300,000 heads of cattle is estimated. (MGAP)
Official inauguration of the Association of Enologists of South America. The initiative is the result of the union between Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, that started to work together to promote and disseminate viticulture. (AEA)
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