The minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Tereza Cristina, met on March 10 with representatives from Arab countries to discuss the possibility of increasing fertilizer exports to Brazil.
According to the minister, with the reduction in exports from Russia and Belarus, Brazil needs to work on “input diplomacyâ€.
Together, the Arab countries supply 26% of the fertilizers imported by Brazil, according to the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. Among the main suppliers to the bloc are Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Oman and Algeria.
The minister said that the Ministry is going to talk to companies and cooperatives in the agricultural sector about the interest in increasing the purchase of these products from the Arab countries.
“It is very important to show the potential of the Arab countries for this supply, so that Brazilian companies know this potential. We are living in an important moment of crisis but also of opportunities for both sides,†said Tereza Cristina, in an audience with Arab ambassadors and representatives of the Chamber.
Brazil imports more than 85% of the fertilizers used in agriculture and, in the case of potash, it accounts for 95% of its consumption. The government is also working on logistics for importing fertilizers. “We have already identified many bottlenecks in Brazilian ports and we are studying how to solve them in the short termâ€, informed the minister.
The president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Osmar Chohfi, said that the organization will also work to bring Arab companies even closer to Brazilian producers. “The Arab countries are important suppliers of different types of fertilizers for Brazilian agribusiness, and Brazil is very important for the Arab countries in terms of food security,†he pointed out.
The Secretary of Agricultural Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Guilherme Bastos, stressed the importance of Brazil diversifying the origins of its fertilizer imports. “We are at a time when Brazil needs to increase the volume of imports to prepare for the next harvest,†he said.
Together, the Arab countries are the main world exporter of fertilizers, followed by Russia, China, Canada and the United States. Brazil is the main destination for Arab fertilizer exports, followed mainly by India, the United States, Thailand, Turkey and Argentina. ■