Minister highlights the importance of Brazil selling value-added soy products

Minister Tereza Cristina (Agriculture, Livestock and Supply) participated this Monday (25) in the inauguration of oil industries and soybean oil refinery in Dourados (MS), developed by Coamo - Agroindustrial Cooperativa.

At the ceremony, the minister highlighted that this is one of the largest soybean crushing projects in Latin America. The industries will add value to exported soybeans, with the production of bran and oil refining.

“At a time when Brazil is exporting and opening up the market, having more value-added products to our soybeans, in the form of bran and oil, is extremely important. We will have more bran available for pig, poultry and cattle farming. These are higher quality jobs, just earnings,” he stated.

Tereza Cristina also highlighted that the opening of the Chinese market for Brazilian soybean meal is being negotiated.

The industrial plant has the capacity to process 3 thousand tons/day of soybeans, production of soybean meal and a refinery for 720 tons/day of soybean oil, equivalent to 15 million bags. With the Dourados industries, added to two other industrial parks, Coamo increases its soybean processing capacity to 8 thousand tons/day and its refining capacity to 1.440 tons/day of refined soybean oil. Investments total more than R$780 million.

The event, in Dourados, was attended by the president of Coamo, José Aroldo Gallassini, and representatives from the federal, state and municipal spheres.

EUA

Tereza Cristina stated that she is now awaiting a response from the United States government regarding the suspension of beef imports in natura from Brazil. Last week, the minister was on a mission to the United States and met with the Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdeu.

“It is an extremely technical subject. He [Perdeu] told me he would give us some news soon,” he said after the inauguration of the industries, in Dourados (MS).

In 2017, the United States suspended purchases of beef cuts from Brazil, due to reactions (abscesses) caused in the herd by the foot-and-mouth disease vaccine. In June this year, a veterinary mission from the United States was in Brazil to inspect beef and pork slaughterhouses.

The Americans requested more information from the Brazilian government, which has already been sent and is being analyzed by the United States.

During the trip, Tereza Cristina met with the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to discuss financing sustainable agricultural projects. Additionally, she signed Memorandum of Understanding with the non-governmental organization Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) to develop the green bond market for the Brazilian agricultural sector.