Storage deficit puts domestic grain supply at risk

The production estimate for the 2022/23 soybean and corn harvest is 87,87 million tons, according to the Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea). The country celebrates record production, but this growth hides a chronic problem: the lack of storage space for grains within rural properties.

According to data from Conab, considering Imea's production estimate for the 2022/23 harvest, the state's storage deficit remains at a level close to half of everything we produce in grain, which demonstrates the urgency and relevance of the issue.

“Harvest comes in and harvest goes out and the problem only gets worse. The largest grain producer in the country, Mato Grosso has no way to store what it produces. Aprosoja-MT constantly charges the Ministry of Agriculture with adequate interest rates and volume of resources to serve small and medium-sized properties, but the entity also operates in permanent forums that seek to promote private credit instruments to face the challenge that is the internal deficit of storage”, emphasized the president of Aprosoja-MT, Fernando Cadore.

Without being able to store production within their properties, rural producers need to harvest the harvest and deliver it to a receiving warehouse, mainly exporting companies. This flood of product supply on the market concentrated in certain periods of the year brings down the price of the product; road freight costs increase; They generate pressure on the infrastructure at a time when the rains are already punishing the asphalt, as a result we see a significant increase in accidents with fatal victims, deterioration of roads, and a reduction in margins for producers.

Another deleterious effect of the lack of storage within properties can be felt by society during the off-seasons, the scarcity of agricultural products shows a contrast between the country that produces surpluses, but which every now and then needs to resort to imports to serve certain consumer markets. Storage within properties is the cause of the problem, and the key to the solution, explains Cadore.

From the point of view of raising awareness in the sector, Cadore also highlights the entity's efforts to demonstrate the viability of building warehouses within properties of any size, as long as they are correctly sized to meet the business needs. “In 2021, the entity launched the Warehouse for All campaign, an initiative that reinforces to producers the importance of their own storage. This is, and will continue to be, a priority for Aprosoja-MT and for soybean and corn producers in the state of Mato Grosso”, concludes Cadore.