“The world cannot survive without Brazilian agriculture”, says WTO director-general

Brazil plays a key role in the global food market, said the director general of the WTO (World Trade Organization), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on a visit to the Parliamentary Front for Agriculture, this Monday (18).

“I know that the world cannot survive without Brazilian agriculture. We need to think about future challenges, not only for Brazil, but for the whole world”, said Ngozi, reinforcing the productive and sustainable potential of the Brazilian agricultural sector. “I am excited about what Brazil has to say about the environment and productive technologies with decarbonization potential”.

The speech comes at a time of rising global food prices, caused by the crisis in global chains amid the pandemic and exacerbated by the conflict in Eastern Europe, where there are important producers of commodities such as wheat, corn, gas and fertilizers. Against this backdrop, Ngozi says he fears an “unprecedented famine”.

Brazil is the fourth largest global exporter of grains – such as rice, barley, soy, corn and wheat –, behind the European Union, the United States and China, and the largest exporter of beef, with the largest cattle herd in the world, according to the Embrapa Secretariat of Intelligence and Strategic Relations (SIRE).

Research by the entity also says that the country accounts for 50% of the soy market and reached, in 2020, the post of second corn exporter.

The gross value of Brazilian agricultural production is expected to reach more than BRL 1.22 trillion in 2022, according to March data published by the Ministry of Agriculture. Compared to the same period last year, the figure represents an increase of 2%.