Minister Sees 2006 as a Green Year for Brazil

Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture, Roberto Rodrigues, says that with changes in macroeconomic policy and lower harvest costs the outlook for 2006 is very positive.

"Harvest costs will be lower this year than they were last year. Either because of a smaller cropland, which may reduce supply and affect prices, or due to changes in government macroeconomic policy which shows signs of being more flexible next year. I believe the worse is over," said the Minister.

Rodrigues said this year’s crisis in the sector was due to various problems. "It was a hard year. There was drought in the south and high interest rates and tight credit everywhere.

The exchange rate ate up the farmer’s profit margin. And then there was the problem of isolated cases of foot and mouth disease that reduced our beef exports by almost US$ 110 million."

Chirac and Farm Subsidies

Earlier this month, the President of France, Jacques Chirac, telephoned Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for a conversation on farm subsidies.

Chirac wanted details on the Brazilian proposal that would be presented at a future summit to deal with the issue.

Lula suggested the summit to the president of the United States, George W. Bush, and British prime minister, Tony Blair, earlier this year, before the Hong Kong WTO conference.

Chirac is scheduled to visit Brazil in April or May of next year.

ABr

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazil’s Lula Fears “Delicious Risk” of Doing Too Well

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that the Public-Private Partnerships Project (PPP), ...

Foreign Tourism Brings Brazil Over US$ 2 Billion This Year

According to the Brazilian Central Bank, foreign tourists spent US$ 2.195 billion in Brazil ...

Brazil Might Enjoy European Living Standard If It Had Kept Growing as in the 60s and 70s

The biggest economic question facing Brazil, as for most developing countries, is when it ...

Brazil’s Industry Federation Calls 2004 Spectacular

“Spectacular,” was the way the president of the Foreign Relations Council at the São ...

Brazil Reserves a France + Germany for Indians

The goal of Brazil’s National Indian Foundation (Funai) is to homologate 25 indigenous territories ...

Brazilian Missing and Presumed Kidnapped in Iraq

In an official note released yesterday January 20, the Brazilian construction firm, Norberto Odebrecht, ...

Who Is Brazil Catering to in Approving Bayer’s New Controversial Rice?

It is possible that Brazil may win a sad new title in 2010: the ...

Brazil’s Painter of Happiness: Absolut Britto

He was born to a very poor family in Northeast Brazil, in the city ...

Brazil Expecting 80,000 from Around the World to Hospital Fair

A delegation of sixteen representatives of the medical product industry in Egypt arrived yesterday ...

Brazil Forgets Politics and Keeps Its Stock Winning Streak

Latin American markets continued their collective upward advance for a second-straight session. Brazil powered ...