Brazil’s Agrarian Development Minister to open investigation into increasing milk imports

The Minister of Agrarian Development, Paulo Teixeira, announced he will request an investigation into the significant increase in milk imports. Teixeira claims that the influx of products from other countries has hindered Brazilian producers and threatened the sustainability of the domestic industry.

During a press conference on the 20th, Teixeira expressed concern over the rising volume of imports in the past six months, stating, “I am receiving numerous appeals from milk producers in Brazil who are alarmed by the number of imports. This could jeopardize our milk sector.”

The minister held meetings with various dairy sector entities in Brasília on Monday, where he presented the letters he received and announced his intention to seek a meeting with the country’s Chamber of Foreign Trade (Camex) to address the detrimental impact of imports on Brazilian production. Teixeira emphasized the need for Camex to investigate any potential irregularities, including suspicions of triangulation in imports that allow the entry of powdered milk from countries outside Mercosur through Argentina and Uruguay, which have free trade agreements with Brazil.

See below Brazil’s milk imports (hs codes 0400-0404), measured in TEUs, from Jan 2019 to Mar 2023. The data is from DataLiner.

Brazil milk imports | Jan 2019 – Mar 2023 | TEU

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Last week, the Parliamentary Front for Agriculture in the State of Rio Grande do Sul sent an official letter demanding the immediate application of a 12% Common External Tariff (TEC) for dairy products imported from Mercosur. The proposal suggests implementing this measure for six months.

According to data from Agrostat, the Ministry of Agriculture’s foreign trade data platform, imports of powdered milk from Argentina and Uruguay have increased more than fourfold between January and May of this year compared to the same period in 2022. The quantity of imported powdered milk surged from 16.9 thousand tons to 72.8 thousand tons during this timeframe.

In terms of value, imports rose from US$ 62.8 million to over US$ 282.1 million in the January-to-May comparison between 2022 and 2023.

Source: Globo Rural

To read the original text, please visit: https://globorural.globo.com/politica/noticia/2023/06/ministro-pedir-que-camex-investigue-aumento-das-importaes-de-leite.ghtml

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