Brazil bets on Japanese PM’s visit to unlock beef sales

The Lula administration wants to take advantage of the visit of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to try and break down Japan’s resistance to Brazilian beef. The meeting with President Lula on Friday (3) is expected to include the announcement of cooperation in the federal program for the recovery of degraded lands and discussions on the reform of the United Nations Security Council and the trade agreement between Japan and Mercosur.

Mr. Kishida came to Brazil with a delegation of 35 business leaders. Japan is the eighth country with the most foreign investment in Brazil and the second trading partner in Asia, behind China. The bilateral trade flow is around $11 billion, a number the Brazilian government wants to increase.

An important part of this objective involves opening the Japanese market to Brazilian beef. Japan imports $4 billion annually, or 70% of its domestic consumption. Most of this volume comes from the United States and Australia, as Brazilian beef still faces health restrictions.

Ambassador Eduardo Saboia, secretary for Asia and the Pacific at Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Thursday that the announcement of the opening of the market would be good news, but did not indicate that this would happen during Mr. Kishida’s visit. “That’s a good question to ask Japan. We are ready [to sell],” he said.

The diplomat recalled that Brazil could compete in the Japanese market even while paying import duties higher than those charged to current suppliers. He also stated that the diversification of purchases could help Japan control food inflation, which recently reached 8% per year, a level considered very high by local standards.

According to Mr. Saboia, President Lula and Prime Minister Kishida should also discuss Japanese investments in the new Brazilian industrialization effort and projects under the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC). Japan is expected to announce its participation in the Brazilian program that aims to recover 12 million hectares of degraded land. There are still no details on how this participation will work.

According to Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also known as Itamaraty, contributions to the Amazon Fund may also be debated. The ambassador recalled that Japan was the first Asian country to contribute resources to the fund—$14 million. “It’s not that much,” said Mr. Saboia, suggesting that new contributions can be discussed.

Mr. Kishida is the first Japanese leader to visit Brazil in 10 years. He will spend the morning with President Lula at the Planato Palace for an extended meeting and a statement to the press. Afterward, they will have lunch at the Itamaraty Palace. From there, Japan’s PM heads to Paraguay, then returns to Brazil on Saturday for business events in São Paulo.

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Source: Valor International

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