| Rural credit

Ministries of Economy and Agriculture create working group for Plano Safra

Minister hopes that new plan will be announced as soon as possible

13.03.2019 | 20:59 (UTC -3)

Agency Brazil

The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Tereza Cristina, announced this Tuesday (12) the creation of a joint working group with the Ministry of Economy to work on the 2019/2020 Harvest Plan.

The expectation is that the new plan will be announced as soon as possible. “I would like this to be as soon as possible to bring more peace of mind to the sector, which is worried,” said the minister, in an interview with journalists, during the Anufood Brazil event, in São Paulo, .

According to Tereza Cristina, agricultural credit under the old plan has already ended, but the government released a new ceiling, of R$6 billion, destined for pre-funding and funding expenses.

Soybean

Asked about Brazilian soybean production, especially with the fact that China is turning its demand to the United States, the minister said that the issue has not yet been defined. “China is not resolved yet. It's suspended. Nobody knows how it will turn out. I think [Brazilian] soybean producers will continue planting soybeans. But we have to have strategic intelligence in production”, stated the minister.

“We have to have open markets to produce more. Brazil’s production potential is very large, but we have to have open markets to receive this production,” he emphasized.

According to Tereza Cristina, soybean producers' income fell a little this year. She highlighted, however, that “the big villain” of the producer's income is the freight rate.

The minister also said she did not believe that the rains that hit the city of São Paulo in recent days could have had an impact on the state's production. "I don't think so. The rain has harmed the cities the most.”

Anufood

Anufood Brazil is a version of Anuga, the largest food fair in the world. The event, which runs from today until Thursday (14) at São Paulo Expo, brings together more than 150 exhibitors, who present the latest in the area of food, drinks and equipment. International business rounds are also planned. The expectation is to bring together 30 local buyers and from various countries.