Idle Conab warehouses will be transferred to states and municipalities

The National Supply Company (Conab) will provide warehouses that are idle in different regions of the country to meet the needs of local producers. The first transfer was made this Wednesday (7) to the municipality of Chapadão do Sul (MS). The decision, announced by Minister Blairo Maggi (Agriculture, Livestock and Supply), also aims to relieve the Union of burdens for maintaining these units.

There are 177 warehouses in the country and 17 in Mato Grosso do Sul. Conab is surveying which ones are in disuse. Minister Blairo Maggi said that, in a meeting with the president of Banco do Brasil, Paulo Cafarelli, this Wednesday, he decided to end the program aimed at building new warehouses. The government spends R$2 to R$3 million on the program per year, he noted.

Blairo Maggi stated that there has been a change in the government's thinking and direction and that Conab's role should be focused on monitoring harvests and pricing policy. “The maintenance of warehouses is only justified in very rare cases.” Therefore, he added, the objective is to transfer or sell idle units to states and municipalities, which can form partnerships with the private sector.

The mayor of Chapadão do Sul, Luiz Felipe Magalhães, will be in charge, during the two-year period of transfer, of renovating and equipping the warehouse, which will serve producers, especially small ones, in the region.

The event was attended by the governor of Mato Grosso do Sul, Reinaldo Azambuja, the president of Conab, Francisco Bezerra, parliamentarians and councilors.