CNA assesses impact of coronavirus on Brazil’s agribusiness exports

Brazil’s Agriculture and Livestock Confederation (CNA) held a live debate via Instagram on March 27 to assess the impact the coronavirus has had on exports.  CNA’s international relations superintendent, Lígia Dutra, and its commercial intelligence coordinator, Sueme Andrade, analyzed the international market and answered questions mainly related to Brazil’s largest trading partners – China, the European Union and the United States.

“We had not had reports that contracts have been canceled. What has happened is that there have been reports of delays in export processes caused by containers that were held up at ports as they couldn’t be unloaded. This caused a general shortage of containers in the world, ”said Lígia Dutra.

There was a small drop in the value exported by Brazil’s agribusiness sector in January and February compared to the same period in 2019 (from US$13.3 billion to US$12.2 billion), but it is not yet possible to connect this to the pandemic.  “Most of these contracts were negotiated last year. Only in the following months will we be able to see better if there will be any impact on the trade balance,” said Sueme Andrade.

According to Lígia Dutra, preliminary information indicates growth in exports of beef, pork and chicken to China in the coming months. “We have to continue producing to take advantage of export opportunities. We need to be attentive to changes in the markets on a daily basis, observing the regulatory and business environment, but maintaining optimism because there is space for us to export our products”, said Dutra.

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