In a year of turbulence and challenges, Brazilian agribusiness is, once again, the safe haven of the Brazilian economy. The first positive news concerns the fact that there is no shortage of food (of plant or animal origin) in supermarkets during the pandemic. In other countries, especially importers – such as China, the problem was serious and required great effort from authorities to purchase emergency food.
According to the article Campo has a crop of good news, by Julio Borges Garcia, President of the National Union of the Plant Defense Products Industry (Sindiveg), Brazil is on the other side of the table, that of a global food supplier. Our country produces grains, fibers and bioenergy to meet the needs of more than 1.2 billion people in almost 200 countries spread across all continents. This contingent represents almost 20% of the global population.
In this field, there is more auspicious news. In the first eight months of 2020, Brazil exported 9.2% more in agricultural products, surpassing US$ 61 billion in revenue, a record for the period. The undeniable highlight is soy and meat (chicken, pork and beef). Foreign sales of soybeans – the country's main agricultural product – have already reached 74 million tons, an increase of 34% over the same period last year.
It is also important to highlight that soybeans and corn represent 60% to 70% of animal feed, being yet another indisputable contribution of agriculture to the success of the production and export of animal proteins.
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To support its impressive performance in world trade, Brazil harvested the largest grain harvest in its history this year. There were 254 million tons. The news is even better. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply says the forecast is to reach 278.7 million tons next year. There are almost 25 million more grains. If the weather helps, 2021 promises to be positive again for the countryside, and Brazil will continue to meet internal and external food needs. Once again, corn and soybeans are the stars, with an increase of 10 million tons (each).
At the base of this spectacular productive performance, a series of gears work to protect crops against enemies that are often invisible, but terribly aggressive. The same tropical climate in Brazil that allows up to three harvests per year is also the ideal environment for the proliferation of an army of pests, diseases, fungi, bacteria and weeds, which attack crops to prevent increased production. Crop failure could reach 40% or 100 million tons of less food if technologies were not adopted. The fight against these harmful agents is carried out, among others, by agricultural pesticides, which fulfill their function of protecting and controlling plants, thus enabling an increase in the productivity of Brazilian agriculture, with a greater supply of food to meet the growing domestic and global demand. .
Due to the great work of Brazilian farmers and breeders and the control of pests and diseases, the agricultural GDP is expected to grow by 3.2% in 2021, strengthening the participation of the agricultural sector in the total Gross Domestic Product – remembering that the countryside was the only segment that grew in the 2nd quarter of this year. This performance also boosts the so-called Gross Production Value (VBP), which represents the sales price within rural properties.
In 2020, VBP reached R$ 742 billion, with growth of 10.1% over last year. In 2021, a new leap is expected, showing that agriculture remains a dynamic and growing sector, which puts more food on people's tables.
Source: agrolink
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