Image: Pixabay
The delay in importing corn, observed at the border post between Brazil and Paraguay, has been a cause for concern for national agribusiness, especially in the animal protein sector. The delay of trucks, stuck in waiting lines in the standard operation of Federal Revenue servers, has been causing losses and inconvenience to the poultry industry in Paraná and producers in the southern region of the country.
Brazil, which is currently reaping good results from off-season corn, has its supply expectations focused on the foreign market, since the war between Ukraine and Russia favors the competitiveness of exports. According to the president of the Union of Poultry Products Industries of the State of Paraná (Sindiavipar), Irineo da Costa Rodrigues, increasingly, especially in the Center-West, the grain is destined for ethanol production and export. “That’s why we need to rely on Paraguayan supplies,” he said.
Corn imported from Paraguay not only supplies the national chain, allowing Brazil to gain space in exports, but also offers lower prices, enabling the poultry sector, the main consumer of the grain, to reduce its production costs and contribute to control inflation. Therefore, the entity believes that bottlenecks need to be eliminated, streamlining the commercial flow. “Customs, equipped in the fiscal area by the Federal Revenue Service and in the Health area by tax auditors from the Ministry of Agriculture, need to improve their resources to guarantee speed, as there are bottlenecks that are harming agricultural activity in Brazil”, he stated.
Rodrigues also highlighted that the slow transfer has impacted business security. “Paraguay is harvesting corn and, obviously, wants to make contracts with customers, but there is a fear of entering into future sales contracts with Brazil, after all, the neighboring country is not sure about the bridge's ability to transport the grains quickly. We have already had cases of trucks sitting in line for 12 days.”
{module Form RD}
Meeting with the Federal Government
Thinking about a resolution, Sindiavipar participated in a series of hearings, last Wednesday (06), in Brasília to discuss the current obstacles in Brazilian customs to the import of Paraguayan corn. The meetings were held with the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, with the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), Marcos Montes, and with the special secretary of the Federal Revenue, Julio Cesar Vieira, accompanied by the president of the Commercial and Business Association from Foz do Iguaçu, Danilo Vendruscolo, businessmen Mário Camargo and José Marcos Sarabia and federal deputy, Vermelho.
According to Rodrigues, reports of the situation caused perplexity among the authorities, who promised action. “They were very attentive to poultry farming in Paraná and the southern states. We need agility at the station between Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este”.
For the president of Sindiavipar, the expectation, with the hearings held, is that the government, through the competent ministries, will closely monitor the flow of goods at the border. Rodrigues highlights that attention is needed with Brazilian customs, in general, as on the borders of Uruguay and Argentina, which also suffer the same difficulties.
“We hope for a positive repercussion. May the government, through the competent ministries, come and look in detail at how the flows are occurring here at the border. Sindiavipar, as a representative entity, has the obligation to understand and study these issues, pointing out possible solutions. And that’s what we did”, concludes Rodrigues.
Per: CROP&MARKET
