The Minister of Agriculture, Teresa Cristinasaid this Thursday (24) in a debate in the Federal Senate that Brazil should not face a shortage of wheat due to the war between Ukraine and Russiabut the soaring price of this commodity will be a problem.
In her speech, the minister assessed that Brazil is not self-sufficient in the production of wheat, and therefore depends on the import of the product. On the world market, Russia and Ukraine account for 28.5% of total exports, but she pointed out that Brazil buys mainly from Argentinawhich should avoid a supply problem.
“Our problem is not that. Our problem today is the price, because prices are globalized, for commodities, so the price has already risen exponentially in our wheat market. The effects will be quite significant if there is a problem in production from Russia and Ukraine,” he said.
According to her, the Ministry of Agriculture he had already developed a program to increase the country’s wheat production and achieve self-sufficiency, but this should take “a few years”.
“This program is going very well, Embrapa currently produces very good varieties in terms of wheat quality and productivity, but we need some time. But we will continue to need the famous fertilizers for this production as well”.
She highlighted that wheat stocks in the country are “very low”. “If we have to import everything, we will have to import 6.5 million tons of wheat. This would be, in terms of food, the product that we are most concerned about with prices and with imports that need to follow their course through our neighboring country, Argentina”.
In addition to wheat, the minister also indicated concern about the supply of fertilizersa product largely produced by Russia and Belarusalso involved in the conflict.
“We have a deficiency in Brazil, which is fertilizers. Brazil is the country that most plants on poor land, so our need is increasing as we increase production”.
She pointed out that Brazil “will have to answer for a part of the production that will be lacking in the world” due to the war, which should also increase the demand for fertilizers, and put pressure on the price of these products. Even so, Tereza Cristina reinforced that “so far, Brazil has received these fertilizers”.
“We have been following and monitoring through the Ministry of Agriculture every day the ships that leave and arrive in Brazil with these fertilizers because it is essential that we receive all these products, because our harvest starts in 4 months. We will be with our planting window happening,” he says.
In that sense, she said that the federal government has carried out a “fertilizer diplomacy”, trying to keep supply channels open with countries like Russia, Belarus and Willdespite the fact that they are targets of sanctions that hamper trade.
The minister said that the sanctions against Russia and Belarus “make us very apprehensive”, but that imported volumes of fertilizers between January and April were not affected, which is “good news for Brazilian agriculture”.
During the debate, Tereza Cristina highlighted the launch of National Fertilizer Plana “strategic action” launched in February this year to reduce dependence on imports, which, according to her, “has been increasing year after year” in Brazil.
“We are not just reacting to the crisis, we are dealing with a long-term structural problem in Brazil, and we will still need to import fertilizers in 2050. This is one of the conclusions of the national plan, the date we set as the final goal for its conclusion”.
The minister stressed that “we are not aiming at Brazil’s self-sufficiency, but at increasing domestic production of fertilizers, which must be considered as a matter of national security, because food security is part of a country’s national security”.
She also stated that “today, what does Brazil need to do at this moment? Keep the trade flowing. Countries cannot restrict exports, this will increase the food supply and price crisis in the world. We have to respond by planting a good crop”.
*Under supervision
Source: CNN Brasil
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