Rio opens research center aimed at sustainable rural development

D1311974987.jpgFarmers will from today (07.30.11) a new core support to adopt sustainable farming practices. It is the State Center of Research for Sustainable Rural Development (Ceprus), which opens in Macaé in the north of Rio de Janeiro. It will take a farm with 140 hectares, owned by the state government.
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Great news for beef industry as US recognize FMD free state

The US has agreed to publish a proposed rule by 16 April to recognise the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina as free of foot and mouth disease (FMD) without vaccination, and other diseases (Unites States Department of Agriculture). However, the possible re-entry of fresh and frozen Brazilian beef to the US hinges on the outcome of an expedited US risk assessment and success in identifying a risk mitigation system to enable unprocessed beef from that state to enter the US without the risk of FMD outbreaks.
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Iran Wants to Use Brazilian Ethanol to Circumvent US Trade Blockade

The Iranian government is interested in using Brazilian ethanol in its vehicles. This information was given by the Brazil's minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Miguel Jorge, who led a trade delegation to the Middle East and is in Tehran. The interest in Brazilian fuel was shown at a meeting between Miguel Jorge and the Iranian minister of Industry and Mines, Ali Akbar Mehrabian. Both opened, on Tuesday (13), at the Parnasian Esteghlal International Hotel, the business meetings between Brazilian and Iranian executives. A group of 86 men and women from Brazil participate in the delegation. According to information disclosed by Miguel Jorge, Iran is interested in Brazilian ethanol due to the problems it is facing with gasoline supply. The country in the Middle East produces oil, but it does not have refineries and is having difficulties importing gasoline due to the trade blockade it faces. Ethanol, according to the Brazilian minister, would be an alternative. Miguel Jorge believes that it would have to be bought in Brazil - and not produced in Iran - as the land in the country is not very appropriate for agriculture. According to the Brazilian minister, it is possible for the Iranians to invest in funds connected to Brazilian ethanol mills. Attracting Iranian investment in this area, in ethanol and agriculture, in fact, was one of Miguel Jorge's objectives in the mission. At the opening of the meetings, on Tuesday morning, the minster spoke to those present about the Brazilian experience with flexible fuel technology, in which a vehicle may run on ethanol, gasoline or any combination of the two. The delegation's visit prompted a series of discussions about cooperation. According to Mehrabian, during the visit that Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has scheduled to Tehran, in May, an agreement in the mining area should be signed. According to Miguel Jorge, cooperation may help business in the sector. In the Iranian capital, representatives of Vale, a Brazilian mining company, met with mining sector representatives to discuss possible business and partnerships. The Iranian minister also showed interest in the Brazilian experience with production of electricity. During the meeting this morning, minister Miguel Jorge pointed out the advances in relations between Brazil and Iran, which took place mainly after president Lula was inaugurated in office, in 2003. Brazilian exports to the country rose from US$ 491 million in 2002 to US$ 1.2 billion last year. Mehrabian said that both countries are going to make an effort to simplify trade, including product transport and financing. The ministers called on Brazilian businessmen present to help boost trade.
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Brazil ‘Ready’ to Profit From Chinese Blockade of Argentine Soy

Brazil, the world’s second-largest soybean producer, said it’s “ready” to boost exports to China after the Asian nation blocked shipments of the oilseed from Argentina, its largest supplier, over a trade dispute. “We’ll try to occupy the biggest space possible left open by Argentina,” Brazilian Agriculture Minister Wagner Rossi said late yesterday in a telephone interview from Brasilia. “Brazil has an opportunity to take advantage of the Chinese embargo on Argentina by raising exports as we’re huge exporters.” Brazil, trailing only the U.S. in soy output, is seeking to boost sales to China after it halted soybean-oil imports from Argentina earlier this month. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will discuss the country’s potential for increasing soy oil shipments with Chinese President Hu Jintao during their meeting in Brasilia on April 16, Rossi said. Brazil exported about 1.59 million tons of soybean oil last year. China, the world’s largest consumer, accounted for about a third of that. In 2008, Brazil exported 2.31 million tons, according to the Brazilian Association of Oilseed Industries. Rossi declined to comment on the size of any potential increase. Soybean futures for July delivery climbed 1.5 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $9.77 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade for its fourth straight gain, the longest rally since March 22. Argentina is the world’s biggest producer of soybean oil and supplies about 80 percent of Chinese demand. Argentina primarily ships crude soybean oil, which must be refined before human consumption, to the Asian nation. Stopped Approving Permits China stopped approving permits to import soybean oil from Argentina, the world’s biggest supplier of the edible oil, four executives familiar with the halt said last week. China acted after the Latin American nation increased antidumping measures against Chinese imports, they said, citing Vice Chairman Bian Zhenhu of the China Chamber of Commerce of Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce & Animal By-Products. “We can increase exports no doubt,” Rossi said. “Brazil’s industry has great capacity in adapting to rising demand. Our productive capacity accepts challenges.” In the near term, Argentine exporters will have difficulty finding alternative destinations for their oil, Thomas Mielke, executive director of Oil World, an industry journal, said in a report to media in Beijing on April 12.
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BRIC ministers to discuss cooperation in agriculture

BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations, with total population of 2.7 billion, will explore opportunities of cooperation in the field of agriculture.
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Soybeans Fall as South American Output May Erode U.S. Exports

Soybeans fell the most in two weeks on speculation that rising production in South America will erode demand for supplies from the U.S., the world’s leading exporter.
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Report finds radical change needed for global agriculture

Comprehensive assessment to be released at pivotal global meeting addresses challenges of hunger, climate change, food and financial crisis
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Brazil’s Ecodiesel restructures, Argentine Renewables protests EU protectionism

The Argentine soy processing industry is clustered along the Paraná River in Santa Fe province. Brazil’s largest biodiesel producer, Ecodiesel SA, recently outlined components of its corporate strategy, including the sale of obsolete equipment and the consolidation of its corporate offices in the capital city of Sao Paulo.
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Brazil Grain Production Expected to Reach 144 Million Tons by End of 2010

Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply Reinhold Stephanes stated that Brazil's 2010 grain harvest is on track to meet historic 2007-08 crop levels. According to a new survey released this month by the National Supply Company (Conab), the 2010 harvest is expected to yield 144.0 million tons, representing a 6.5 percent increase from the previous year. This performance is approaching the 2007-08 harvest yields of 144.1 million tons, the largest in Brazil's history.
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Minas Gerais Expecting a 2.9% Crop Reduction

Minas Gerais, a state in southeastern Brazil, has already allocated 3.9 billion Brazilian reais (US$ 2.1 billion) to its current agricultural crop, according to data supplied by the Bank of Brazil. The amount of funds is 18.7% greater than the 3.2 billion reais (US$ 1.79 billion) spent from July 2008 until February 2009.
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Belarus to dispatch first shipment of tractors to Brazil

Belarus is gearing up to advance to the Brazilian machinery market. The first shipment of Belarusian tractors is due to be dispatched in the nearest future. The relevant agreement was reached during a meeting of First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vladimir Semashko and Governor of the Brazilian State of Goias Alcides Rodrigues Filho. Vladimir Semashko heads a Belarusian delegation that is in Goias on a visit.
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Israel signs trade agreement with South America

Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and minister Miguel Jorge Israel is the first country outside South America to sign a free trade agreement with the regional Mercosur bloc. Brazilian President Lula da Silva visted Israel last week Israel signed last week a new free trade agreement with Brazil, and the rest of the Mercosur bloc - Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay - making Israel the first non-Latin American country to sign such a deal with Mercosur. Brazilian President Lula da Silva met with Israeli President Peres in Jerusalem last week and said that Brazil had given its final approval for a free trade agreement between Israel and the Mercosur bloc. Israel is the first country outside South America to sign a free trade agreement with the regional bloc whose members produce over US$3 trillion in GDP and have a combined population of over 270 million. President Peres and President Lula opened an economic conference together in front of hundreds of Israeli and Brazilian business leaders. The Israeli Minister of Industry, Trade, and Labor Mr. Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, the Israeli President of the Manufacturers Association Mr. Sharga Brosh, the Brazilian President of the Sao Paulo Industrialist Association (FIESP) Mr. Paulo Skaf, and the Brazilian Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Mr. Miguel Jorge, joined the presidents. The agreement takes 30 days to come into effect and will come into force in early April 2010. Brazil expects the result will be a swelling in bilateral trade, to more than US$3 billion within five years. Lula da Silva said Israel was “an ideal partner” to help develop its semiconductor, nanotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. “We hope to advance economic and business ties between Israel and Brazil as trade has increased significantly between our two countries in the past few years,” he said. He also said Brazil was seeking to widen economic ties with Israel ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Brazil is Israel's largest trade partner in Latin America and with the approval of the agreement trade is expected to increase by the billions of dollars, especially in the sectors of agriculture, education, science, medicine, space and will reinforce the mutual investments by both countries. Israel and Brazil formerly had a surplus trade agreement. In 2008, trade between the two countries totaled US$1.6 billion, of which US$1.2 billion were exports from Israel, mostly chemicals and fertilizers used in Brazilian agriculture. Venezuela, Colombia, Chile and Ecuador are in various stages of integration into Mercosur, with Venezuela on track for full admittance.
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U.S. Corn May Drop 10%, Soybeans 5%, Researcher Says

U.S. corn prices may drop by about 10 percent and soybean prices by 5 percent with favorable weather, Jay O’Neil, a researcher at Kansas State University, said in an interview.
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Japan, Brazil Plan to Help Mozambique Become Grain Exporter

Mozambique, which depends on imports to meet about half its rice needs, aims to become a grain exporter after achieving self-sufficiency as early as 2015 with technical and financial assistance from Japan and Brazil.
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