The Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA) participated in a live debate on the panorama of international agribusiness last Friday (08). The meeting, promoted by the president of the Parliamentary Front for Agriculture (FPA) and federal deputy (MDB/RS) Alceu Moreira, had as guests the superintendent of International Relations of the CNA, Lígia Dutra, and the secretary of Commerce and International Relations of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Map), ambassador Orlando Leite Ribeiro.
Participants discussed the situation of agricultural exports during the coronavirus crisis, in addition to the challenges and trends for post-pandemic agriculture, the role of agricultural attachés abroad, private sector initiatives and the possibility of partnerships with other countries.
“It is a time when agriculture needs to position itself in the world. We have growing demand, but less traditional sectors need support. We have seen a large number of entrepreneurs looking to train themselves to take their products abroad. With this union we can get something positive out of this difficult time we are going through”, stated Lígia Dutra. Orlando Ribeiro believes that Brazil should take the opportunity to expand business and conquer new markets, as there is the possibility of a wave of protectionism in many countries.
“Some governments should favor domestic consumption over imported consumption. We need to take advantage of this window to expand negotiations and emerge as a reliable partner, who in a difficult time did not abandon these countries”, he said.
According to the Mapa secretary, there was a drop in agricultural exports to all regions of the world, except Asia, which was responsible for 52.5% of the total. China remains Brazil's biggest buyer. Alone, the country represented 33.8% of exports in the first quarter of 2020 and surpassed the sum of Brazil's other six main trading partners (European Union, United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia).
Actions – For the debaters there is no doubt that Brazil is already a major exporter and has the potential to further expand its participation in the international market, but the need to improve points such as trade promotion is essential. Lígia highlights that CNA has been developing internationalization and commercial promotion actions for Brazilian agricultural products, such as the Agro.BR project and the agro internationalization program.
“CNA opened an office in Shanghai and we have already had more than 60 companies interested in exporting. We need to do more ambitious, aggressive work and conquer this space that already exists out there. There are many commercial opportunities. What is missing is to join the ends”, she declared. The need to expand production capacity to meet countries' demands and guide producers towards international marketing processes were also challenges highlighted.
“There is a demand out there, but we are often unable to meet it because our public policies have not been able to direct investments and resources towards this. Food security is one of the world's greatest assets and Brazil can be the world's greatest supplier”, said deputy Alceu Moreira, who revealed the idea of creating a South American version of the FPA for political coordination and integration between countries on the continent. .
In the opinion of the participants in the debate, another point that requires attention is the strengthening of agricultural supervision to guarantee the safety and health of products, an increasingly greater demand from the foreign market. They also believe that the difficulty in holding international fairs will further boost the trend of e-commerce platforms.
Source: DATA
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