2008 forecast as bumper year for Brazilian Crops:

The agricultural sector forecasts a track record for 2008 crops, reaching 143 million tons

Trouble brewing for 2009:

• lack credit
• no financing for fertilizers
• commodities prices fall
• read more
  • http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bea8b7f0-c627-11dd-a741-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

Acai - berry from the jungle

see video:  http://www.latimes.com/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=2813102

(pronounced ah-sigh-EE), the unassuming fruit of a jungle palm that has gone from Amazonian staple to global wonder-berry: a much-hyped ingredient in smoothies, sorbets, nutrition bars and countless trendy treats from L.A. to London to Tokyo.

Acai's cachet derives not only from the berry's antioxidant traits and supposed Viagra-like powers of vitality, but from its green pedigree: It has been acclaimed as a renewable resource that provides a sustainable livelihood for tens of thousands of subsistence harvesters without damaging the expanses of the Amazon. Because of acai, the jungle is more valuable standing than felled.  see our discussion on saving the Amazon.

But, Conservationists worry that acai could succumb to the destructive agribusiness model: clear-cut lands, sprawling plantations and liberal application of pesticides and fertilizer.

read more:  http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-acai21-2008sep21,0,5946602.story

news 5/2008

As rising food prices continue to threaten food security around the world, one obvious solution is being largely ignored: Brazil. The country has enormous reserves of unused arable land, most of it currently serving as under-productive pasture, that could easily and cheaply be turned over to production of grains and other foods. The problem is that much of Brazil’s farm produce continues to face prohibitive tariffs and other barriers to developed markets in Europe and the US.

“The correct response is to give priority to dealing with hunger, with access to foodstuffs and to food production in poorer countries” Celso Amorim, Brazil’s foreign minister, told the FT last week. “And to give priority to tackling the root of the problem: the enormous subsidies in rich countries that undermine production in developing nations. World hunger is not a result of a lack of supply, but principally of the low income levels in poor countries.”

Brazil has its share of the blame. The country has been remarkably backward in lobbying developed-world governments and spreading the word about its huge productive capacity. It has done little to combat hysteria over the supposed threat of ethanol to the Amazon forest, for example: a threat that, if it exists, owes more to lawlessness in the Amazon region than to economic imperatives of ethanol production.

But the developed world appears purposely myopic in relation to the opportunities Brazil presents. Just raising intensity of cattle production from the current 0.8 animals per hectare to 1.2 animals (a target already far exceeded in many parts of the country) would release about 80m hectares of land for crops. But that would upset wealthy US and European farmers – a price apparently not worth paying.

Jonathan Wheatley

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8efa874c-147d-11dd-a741-0000779fd2ac.html

The green revolution 

Brazil is preparing to reap a record harvest and export $ 52 billion in agricultural products in 2008. Com preços em alta, a euforia está de volta ao campo With prices upwards, the euphoria is back to the field

Shortly before the turn of the year, the executive Luiz Maciel, the group ABC miner Inco, was the city of Porto Franco, in Maranhao.  There, his company installed an overwhelming process of soybeans that wanted to 180 thousand tonnes of grain in 2007, the first year of operation of the factory.  Closed figures, the volume reached to 350 thousand tons.  Impressed, Maciel again Uberlândia, headquarters of the group, refez the 2008 budget and already projected to reach 600 thousand tons. "Não conheço um produtor que não esteja pensando em expandir a área plantada", diz ele. "I know of a producer who is not considering expanding the area planted," he says. "Todos os dias, investidores daqui e de fora visitam a região". "Every day, investors here and outside visiting the region." Situada 545 quilômetros abaixo de São Luís, Porto Franco fica no centro de uma região que já é chamada pelos especialistas de "Mapito". Located 545 kilometers below St. Louis Porto Franco is in the center of a region that is already called by the specialists of "Mapito." É um gigantesco pedaço de Cerrado que engloba o sul do Maranhão e do Piauí ea metade norte de Tocantins. It is a gigantic piece of Cerrado that includes the southern Maranhao and Piaui and half north of Tocantins. Lá, a produção atual de soja é de 2 milhões de toneladas e deve chegar a 6 milhões dentro de dois ou três anos. "Essa é hoje a principal fronteira agrícola do País", diz Maciel, cuja empresa alcançará em 2008 o seu primeiro bilhão de reais em faturamento. There, the current soybean production is 2 million tons, and should reach 6 million within two or three years. "That is now the main agricultural frontier of the country," says Maciel, whose company achieved in 2008 its first billion of real billing.

The performance of "Mapito", in fact, is just one example of what happens in Brazil whole. Na terça-feira 8, o governo divulgou a estimativa de safra do período 2007/2008. On Tuesday 8, the government issued an estimate of the harvest of the 2007/2008 period. Dentro de poucos meses, os produtores começarão a extrair da terra a maior colheita de grãos da história. Within a few months, producers begin to extract the earth the largest grain harvest in history. Serão 135,5 milhões de toneladas. Will be 135.5 million tonnes. Mais importante que o volume, no entanto, é o preço dos produtos. Commodities como soja e milho subiram mais de 100% desde 2005. More important than the volume, however, is the price of the products. Commodities such as soybeans and corn have risen more than 100% since 2005. E isso fará com que as exportações agrícolas cheguem a US$ 52 bilhões neste ano, gerando um saldo na balança comercial de US$ 45 bilhões - ou seja, mais de 100% do superávit brasileiro . This will cause agricultural exports will reach $ 52 billion this year, generating a balance in the trade balance of $ 45 billion - or more than 100% of surplus Brazilian. O melhor é que os preços tendem a se manter altos por um bom tempo - no mínimo, mais três anos. The best is that prices tend to remain high for a long time - at least three more years. "Esse é o maior estímulo para que o produtor amplie a área plantada", disse à DINHEIRO o ministro da Agricultura, Reinhold Stephanes. "This is the greatest incentive for the producer to expand hectarage," said MONEY to the Minister of Agriculture, Reinhold Stephanes. Por trás do ciclo de alta, Stephanes aponta diversos fatores. Behind the cycle of high, Stephanes suggests several factors. "O etanol de milho nos Estados Unidos tomou áreas destinadas à agricultura eo aumento da renda dos emergentes melhorou a dieta de boa parte da população mundial", diz ele. "The ethanol from corn in the United States has areas intended to agriculture and increasing the income of emerging improved the diet of much of the world's population," he says. Isso significa maior consumo de grãos e de proteína animal. That means higher consumption of grains and animal protein. Como o Brasil é uma das poucas fronteiras agrícolas do mundo, com mais de 90 milhões de hectares a ser explorados, já há consultorias projetando uma produção próxima aos 170 milhões de toneladas em 2011. Since Brazil is one of the few agricultural frontiers in the world, with more than 90 million hectares to be exploited, there is already consulting projecting a production next to 170 million tons in 2011.

The current moment, in the opinion of Stephanes, is the ideal opportunity to solve the problems of the past. Farmers still carry a debt of $ 130 billion, equivalent to a crop, and the Minister is trying to start a new renegotiation of Finance. " This is vital so that the producer can benefit from the cycle of high and thus invest in technology and expansion, "reinforces Roberto Rodrigues, predecessor of Stephanes in government. Com mais de 40 anos de experiência agrícola, ele discorda daqueles que enxergam o patamar de preços atual como definitivo. With more than 40 years of farming experience, he disagrees those who see the current level of prices as definitive. "Se você olhar para os últimos 100 anos, verá que os preços agrícolas sempre caem no longo prazo em função dos contínuos ganhos de produtividade", diz ele. "If you look at the past 100 years, you will see that agricultural prices always fall in the long term on the basis of ongoing gains in productivity," he says. Rodrigues, no entanto, concorda com a tese de que o Brasil já está pronto para um crescimento sustentado da produção agrícola. Rodrigues, however, agrees with the thesis that Brazil is ready for sustained growth in agricultural production. "Dentro de seis ou sete anos, é possível chegar aos 200 milhões de toneladas de grãos", diz ele. "Within six or seven years, you can reach the 200 million tons of grain," he says.

This expansion is being felt in all cultures. Até mesmo nas que não são tipicamente brasileiras, como é o caso do trigo, cujo preço da tonelada subiu de US$ 150 para US$ 320 em um ano. Even those who are not typically Brazilian, such as wheat, the price of tonne increased from US $ 150 to US $ 320 in a year. "Nos próximos meses, será brutal o aumento do plantio das culturas de inverno", prevê Luiz Martins, presidente do Sindicato da Indústria do Trigo de São Paulo. "In the coming months, will be brutal increasing the planting of winter crops," provides Luiz Martins, president of the Wheat Industry Union of Sao Paulo. O Brasil, que produz 3,5 milhões de toneladas, pode chegar aos 5 milhões já na próxima safra. No milho, o ambiente é semelhante. Brazil, which produces 3.5 million tonnes, can arrive at 5 million already in the next harvest. In maize, the environment is similar. "Vejo o Brasil saltando de 55 milhões para 80 milhões de toneladas em cinco anos", diz Nelson Kowalski, presidente da Abimilho. Ele, que acaba de chegar dos EUA, ficou impressionado com os números da produção americana de etanol. "I see the Australia jumping from 55 million to 80 million tons in five years," says Nelson Kowalski, president of Abimilho. Him, which has just come from the USA, was impressed with the numbers of American production of ethanol. "Eles já falam em destinar 100 milhões de toneladas de milho à agroenergia", afirma. "They already speak in earmarked 100 million tonnes of maize to agroenergia," he says. Esse movimento, naturalmente, abriu espaço para outros países no mercado global eo Brasil foi um dos maiores beneficiários. This movement, of course, has opened space for other countries in the global market in Brazil was one of the biggest beneficiaries. No ano passado, o País exportou 11 milhões de toneladas e faturou US$ 2 bilhões. Last year, the country exported 11 million tons and faturou $ 2 billion. A tendência, em 2008, é de aumento da venda de carnes, que consomem grandes quantidades de milho. The trend in 2008 is to increase the sale of meat, which consume large quantities of maize. "É melhor que a exportação se dê na forma de frango ou porco, com maior valor agregado", aponta César Borges, da Caramuru, cuja receita irá saltar de R$ 1,2 bilhão para R$ 1,8 bilhão neste ano. "It is better that the export is given in the form of chicken or pork, with higher added value," notes Cesar Borges, the Caramuru, whose revenue will jump from $ 1.2 billion to $ 1.8 billion this year.

Outro aspecto positivo é a profissionalização do campo, que levou algumas empresas agrícolas à bolsa de valores. Another positive aspect is the professionalization of the field, which has led some companies to agricultural stock exchange. Foi o caso da Agrenco, focada em soluções logísticas, que captou US$ 380 milhões com seu IPO. This was the case of Agrenco, focused on logistics solutions, which raised $ 380 million with its IPO. "O mundo demanda cada vez mais alimentos eo único país pronto para expandir a oferta é o Brasil", diz Antonio Iafelice, presidente da empresa. "The world increasingly demand foods and the only country ready to expand the supply is Brazil," says Antonio Iafelice, president of the company. Nem a infra-estrutura o preocupa. Neither the infrastructure concerns. "Os investimentos estão acontecendo", diz ele. "Investments are happening," he says. Sua empresa, que atua em 11 países e faturou US$ 1,6 bilhão em 2007, chegará aos US$ 3 bilhões neste ano. His company, which operates in 11 countries and faturou $ 1.6 billion in 2007, to reach $ 3 billion this year. Boa parte disso se deve aos aumentos de preço. Good part of it is due to increases in price. Mas o aumento de volume será próximo a 30%. But the increase in volume will be close to 30%. Sinal de que está em curso uma nova revolução verde no Brasil. Signal, which is currently a new green revolution in Brazil.