“Free trade partnership between Uruguay, Mercosur and China”
Stock market increased almost 23% and the “blue dollar” surpassed ARS$ 1,000 on the first business day after Javier Milei’s election. Shares of Argentine companies listed in the USA rose as much as 40% on Monday, led by State oil company YPF. The president-elect stated that he will make a “shock adjustment” of 15% of the country’s GDP, and said that “2024 must end with fiscal balance”. (S&P Global; Radio Mitre)
“With these short-term exchange rates, it is difficult to plan in advance”, according to Daniel Urcía, vice-president of the Federation of Argentine Regional Slaughterhouses. “One solution is to propose an economic system with greater predictability over time. For now, the new dollar can help and, without a doubt, improve competitiveness”, said Urcía. “The [meat] chain as a whole has already expanded and made it clear that it does not want intervention in exports”. (ICPVA; FIFRA)
Shipments of apples and pears to Brazil reached 131.9 thousand tonnes in 2023, which represented a significant increase (+53%) compared to the previous year. Shipments of pears to Brazil reached a record compared to the last five years. The country is the destination for 40% of Argentine pears. (Senasa)
After a long time without significant rain and with high temperatures, humidity is expected to return throughout Brazil in the coming days. The heat wave, which resulted in records of around 40ºC in several areas of Brazil, is starting to lose strength and there should be rainfall in important agricultural areas. (Inmet; NOAA)
JBS and the Federal University of Santa Catarina sign an agreement to boost research on laboratory meat in Brazil. The agreement provides for the concession of facilities at the JBS Biotech Innovation Center, the first R&D center for cultivated meat in the country. “Cultivated protein technology has proven to be relevant to the world and JBS could not fail to be at the forefront,” said the company’s CEO, Gilberto Tomazoni. (JBS; UFSC)
Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, was temporarily dismissed from his job as minister to vote in the Senate, by his own request. (MAPA)
Climate projections show that the city of Catalão, in the southeast of the State of Goiás, has been the most affected by the weather so far: since September 15th, it has only rained 133 mm in the region. Losses from soybean farms in the municipality can reach 17%. (Ignitia Climate Intelligence)
Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, said on November 21st that the government “will not let Brazilian farmers go into debt because of climate issues”. Fávaro said that the Ministry of Agriculture will automatically extend the debts of farmers most impacted by climate adversity. Fávaro recalled, for example, that wheat financing by Banco do Brasil, which expired on October 30th, was automatically extended for two years. (MAPA)
Wheat harvest failure in the 2023/24 season. Reduction of more than 1 million tonnes when compared to the previous estimate, which means a drop from 10.5 to 9.28 million tonnes. “The continuous rains in the State of Rio Grande do Sul will harm the quality of much of what will be harvested… In the State of Paraná, the situation is also delicate”, according to the risk management consultant at StoneX Consultoria, Jonathan Pinheiro. (StoneX Consultoria)
During the last 38 years, Colombia’s natural vegetation has decreased by 6%. Forests lost represent approximately twice the size of El Salvador’s territory, according to MapBiomas. The area covered by managed pastures and permanent and/or temporary crops increased by 24.2% in the period. (MapBiomas)
Natural Harvest Colombia, an avocado processing company, has exported 660 tonnes of avocado oil to Mexico, Europe and North America, since August of 2022. Founded in 2022, the company has already reached US$ 3 million in exports. “Our first export was to Mexico and we have since expanded to other markets”, said Maydenrocío Rojas, supply chain manager. (Natural Harvest Colombia)
Banco Agrario de Colombia (Agrarian Bank of Colombia) launched a digital currency called “Bico”. According to Hernando Zuccardi, president of Banco Agrario, “this will not only help to save time, but we also hope to surpass more than one million customers.” (Banco Agrario de Colombia)
High production costs and climate uncertainty are the main problems for Mexican farmers, according to results from the Agricultural Census. Almost 89% of farmers reported “high input and service costs”, while 61% said they suffered “losses due to some climatic or biological factor”. The “loss of soil fertility” is a problem reported by 29.9% of respondents. (National Institute of Statistics and Geography)
Shipping companies have paid a total of US$ 235 million in 2023 to skip the Panama Canal queue, as drought has limited the number of ships that can enter the waterway. This is 20% higher than what companies paid throughout 2022 for priority passage. It’s also enough to cover an estimated US$ 200 million revenue decrease, which the channel faces due to reduced traffic this year. (Waypoint Port Services; ING Groep)
Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Giménez, commented on the dismissal of deputy minister Víctor Coronel: “We don’t understand each other,” said Giménez. The minister announced that there will be more changes to the ministry’s staff, stating that there are “many people who receive director salaries without fulfilling the functions of this position”. Daniel Ortiz Báez will be the new deputy minister of agriculture, according to a presidential decree. (Ministry of Agriculture; Radio ABC Cardinal; Government of Paraguay)
Death rate of alpacas could rise from 10% to 50% next year due to a lack of rain. The crisis is expected to affect 80,000 families, who are dedicated to raising the animals. Drought is causing the disappearance of natural water sources and affecting forage production. “In recent years, bodies of water are disappearing and this puts at risk the future of livestock production and breeding”, according to Fredy Quispe Idme, president of the Peruvian Society of Registered Alpacas. (Aspar)
World Bank granted a loan of US$ 350 million to Uruguay, with a possible reduction in interest rates if certain environmental objectives are met. Interest rate reduction can be up to 1% per year, which means potential savings of US$ 12.5 million over the period of the loan if Uruguay “achieves a verifiable decrease in the intensity of methane gas emissions from the livestock sector”. (World Bank; Ministry of the Environment)
President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, told Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang that he wants to establish “a free trade partnership between Uruguay, Mercosur and China”, during a meeting in Beijing on November 23rd. “Uruguay is firmly committed to close relations with China”, Pou said. There is resistance to the agreement between Uruguay and China from other Mercosur countries, which want to establish a free trade agreement with the EU. (Xinhua State News Agency; Government of Uruguay)
READ MORE: