Mar 09, 2010
Brazil Overtakes Canada As Third Leading Exporter Of Agricultural Products
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
During the last decade, Brazil has increased its agricultural exports faster than any other major producing country. Between 2000 and 2008, Brazil's agricultural exports increased at an annual rate of 18.6% compared to 11.4% for the European Union, 8.4% for the United States, 6.3% for Canada, and 6% for Australia. As a result, Brazil has leaped from sixth place in total agricultural exports in 2000 to third place in 2008, trailing only the United States and the European Union.
A series of factors have led to the increase in Brazil's agricultural exports including: a favorable tropical climate to grow crops, diversity of agricultural products, increased productivity, increased demand from Asian countries, and a favorable exchange until 2006.
Today, Brazil is unique in that it has the largest base of tropical agriculture in the world. The tropical climate allows many Brazilian farmers to grow several crops per year in each field. In central Brazil, it is a common practice to grow a crop of soybeans and then a second crop of corn in the same field during the same growing season. Eighty percent of the world's grain production is still produced in temperate regions such as the United States, Canada, and the European Union, but these temperate regions cannot expand their acreage base and they have trouble keeping people on the farm. Brazil has millions of additional hectares of available land that could be converted to agricultural production.
Brazilian scientists have also done a very good job in increasing the productivity of the Brazilian crops. Between 1999 and 2009, Brazil's agricultural acreage increased 1.7% per year, but the productivity per hectare increased 4.7% per year.
The biggest export success in recent years has been the tremendous increased in exports of soybeans, soybean products, and beef. Brazil is already the leading exporter of sugar, coffee, orange juice, tobacco, ethanol, beef, and poultry and Brazil is among the leading exporters of soybeans, soybean oil, soybean meal, corn, and pork.
While Brazil has moved into third place in agricultural exports, it's agricultural exports are about half that of the United States and the European Union.