Brazilian agribusiness celebrates “biggest era of market openness in the last 10 years” with China

A new agreement to facilitate exports from Brazilian agribusiness producers to China is being seen by specialists in Brazil as crucial to inaugurating the “biggest era of market openness in the last ten years” between the two countries.

Agronomist Helen Jacintho said that with the new agreement, China is opening up its market for products such as soybean meal (which had been long requested by the Brazilian industry), concentrated soy protein, corn, peanuts, and citrus pulp.

“These are excellent news, which consolidates our position as a trustworthy global food producer,” wrote Jacintho in Forbes magazine.

According to Ricardo Arioli, agronomist and president of the National Commission for Cereals, Fibers, and Oilseeds of the CNA (Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil), the agreement contemplates products of great interest to Brazil in terms of output and export capacity, prioritizing second-line products, such as corn, sorghum, and sesame.

Protocols were discussed at a meeting between officials of China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture to reduce bureaucracy in industry inspection procedures and customs clearance of Brazilian products.

Initially, the Brazilian agribusiness sector expected to gain permission to export these products to China only in 2023, after closing a health protocol agreement: instead of sending personnel to check the production units in South America, the Chinese authorized officials from Mapa (Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply) to carry out these inspections, considerably facilitating the process for both parties.

In 2021, Brazil exported US$41 billion to China (34 percent of its total agricultural sales). Brazil is China’s largest supplier of agricultural products, accounting for approximately 20 percent of all the Asian country’s imports.

See below the volume trends of Brazilian exports to China from January 2019 to June 2022. The data below is from DataLiner.

Exported volume from Brazil to China | Jan 2019 – Jun 2022 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

According to Lígia Dutra, director of International Relations at CNA, the country needs to seek new trade agreements and diversify its export plans for Brazilian agriculture to be more competitive in the international market. According to Dutra, Brazil is a major agricultural product exporter but has little market access.

“Without trade agreements, we ended up centering our export strategies on commodities, unable to capitalize on other foreign market prospects that could benefit goods with higher added value,” Dutra explained.

“We need to enter new trade agreements to add value to exports and shield our country from the harsh international trade circumstances. In addition, trade agreements introduce our country to opportunities, assisting in developing pathways, ensuring stability and security to rural producers, and avoiding scenarios such as market closures, factory closures, and other sorts of friction,” Jacintho argues.

Source: Plataforma Media

To read the full original article, please go to: https://plataformamedia.com/2022/08/19/brasil-alcanca-a-maior-abertura-de-agroprodutos-nos-ultimos-10-anos-para-a-china/

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