Tereza Cristina defends expansion of agricultural trade between Brazil and Japan

On Monday (08/26), while opening the 4th Brazil-Japan Dialogue at Fiesp, in São Paulo, Minister Tereza Cristina (Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply) defended the expansion of trade between the two countries. Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing, Takamori Yoshikawa, also attended the event.

Tereza Cristina and Yoshikawa met in May in Tokyo when the minister took a trip to the country, which was when the dialogue was confirmed to happen in Brazil with the presence of the Japanese minister.

In a speech, she said that the agribusiness trade flow between the two countries has grown 130% in the last 20 years, but Brazil is not among the main destinations of Japanese investments abroad.

Japan is the fourth largest importer of agricultural products in the world. And Brazil is the main supplier of some of them, such as fresh chicken meat, green coffee, ethanol, and orange juice. In 2018, Brazilian products accounted for only 3.2% of Japanese market agricultural imports.

“Brazil is proven as a land of opportunity and a reliable destination for foreign capital. I would like to highlight the potential of investments in infrastructure and logistics in our country and, especially, in the flow of agricultural production,” said the minister.

“Demanding global buyers need to be informed about the reality of food production in Brazil, from its origin on farms to the consumer’s table. It is essential for the world to know the example that Brazilian agriculture has to set in environmental, social, and labor aspects.”

Meat

In a bilateral meeting with the Japanese minister, Tereza Cristina presented the opportunity to export beef and pork from the states of Santa Catarina, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Goiás, and Rondônia to the Asian country. According to her, Japan usually imports meat from FMD-free countries without vaccination. And in Brazil only the state of Santa Catarina has this condition.

“I proposed to him a block of states and the deals are being discussed so that we can achieve this goal. We are moving forward and I hope that next year we have a [Japanese] mission coming here to see these states, except Santa Catarina, which does not need technical visits,” said Tereza.

The minister also announced the negotiations to open the Brazilian avocado market and said that Japan is very interested in a cooperation between Japanese and Brazilian universities and Embrapa, in the area of food security.

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