Скачать или смотреть Is Brazilian agro in crisis? Explaining Brazil

The number of requests for bankruptcy protection among farmers in Brazil's major agricultural state of Mato Grosso has spiked. At the same time, unfavorable climate conditions are expected to significantly reduce crop yields this year.

These are two ominous signs for a sector that has propped up Brazil's economic growth in recent years — and makes up an increasing share of the country's exports. But how bad is the situation? Is the sector headed for a crisis? Or is this much ado about nothing?

According to The Agribiz, an independent website that covers the Brazilian agricultural sector, the debts of farmers who have or are about to file for bankruptcy protection have topped BRL 2 billion (USD 500 million).

Meanwhile, climate conditions have hurt grain producers in the Center-West region, also known as Brazil's soy belt.

A February 5 report by Mato Grosso agricultural economics institute IMEA estimated that the state's soy crop yields will be down by about 15 percent this year, compared to the last cycle.

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In this episode:

Luiz Henrique Mendes is co-founder of The Agribiz, an independent website that covers the Brazilian agricultural sector.
Background reading:

Brazil’s trade balance ended 2023 with a record surplus, 60.6 percent higher than the previous year, largely due to the trading of record volumes of agricultural commodities.

The government reduced forecasts for this year's grain harvest. The harvest of corn, the country’s second-most important crop, is expected to decline by over 10 percent.

A 2023 study showed that access to rural credit is vastly unequal in Brazil, granted largely to bigger properties located in the South and dedicated to producing grains. Family farmers are overlooked, despite making up the majority of rural properties in Brazil, and producing most of the food consumed in the country.

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