Nov 12, 2010
GMO Crops Continue to Gain Acreage in Brazil
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
While some farmers in Brazil feel there will be a niche market for conventional grains, the bigger trend in Brazil is for more genetically modified crop production. In the state of Parana for example, three out of every four sacks of grain produced in 2010/11 will be GMO varieties. In 2009/10, GMO crops accounted for a little more than 50% of the state's total production. During the 2010/11 growing season GMO crops are expected to account for approximately 76% of the total grain production in the state.
The main advantage of GMO crops is that they offer the farmer a lower cost of production. Starting in 2004, farmers in Brazil were legally allowed to grow GMO crops and they have been planting more and more GMO varieties ever since.
Some food manufactures and cooperatives are trying to maintain at least some of their products as GMO free, but it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find enough conventional grain to meet their needs. The Coamo Cooperative in Campo Mourao, which is located in western Parana, has contracts to deliver two vessels per month of conventional soybean meal to its European customers, but they are concerned if they are going to be able to source enough soybeans to meet those commitments. In their draw area, GMO soybeans accounted for 68% of the soybeans produced in 2009/10 and that has increased to 88% for the 2010/11 growing season. In many areas conventional soybeans now account for less than 5% of the total production. Without a hefty premium for identify preserved conventional soybeans, farmers and grain elevator operators can't justify the cost of separating out conventional soybeans.
GMO corn use is not as widespread as soybeans, but corn is quickly catching up. In Parana, GMO corn accounted for 44% of the total corn crop in 2009/10 and that is expected to increase to 71% of the total in 2010/11. Even the safrinha corn crop in the state was 61% GMO last growing season.