Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — The confirmation of more bird flu cases in South America raised alarm bells in Brazil, which remains free of contagion even after its close neighbours Argentina and Uruguay confirmed cases there on Wednesday. In a press conference to discuss the global sanitary hazard, Brazilian Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro said Brazil, […] Read more
More South American nations report bird flu cases
Brazil still remains free of contagion
Trucker blockades in Brazil increase in wake of Bolsonaro election loss
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters – Truckers who support Brazil’s outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro escalated their protests on Monday, blocking roads in 16 states in an action that could affect agricultural exports in one of the world’s top food producers. Bolsonaro lost Sunday’s election to leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, but has yet to concede […] Read more
As grain prices fall, food prices to ease first in developing world -U.S. official
Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters – Seth Meyer, chief economist at the United States Department of Agriculture, said on Tuesday weaker commodities prices will take longer to ease food inflation in the United States than in the developing world. Some of the world’s poorest nations were hardest hit by a spike in corn and wheat prices after Russia’s […] Read more
Brazil clears GMO wheat flour from Argentina in global first
Sales, however, may be slow
Reading Time: 3 minutes Sao Paulo/Buenos Aires | Reuters –– Brazil on Thursday became the first country to allow imports of flour made with genetically modified wheat, though shipments of the new variety developed in Argentina are unlikely anytime soon due to opposition from Brazilian millers and global consumers. The decision may spur a broader global discussion about genetically […] Read more
Brazil’s JBS bought 301,000 cattle from ‘irregular’ farms in Amazon, audit finds
Prosecutors 'negotiating improvements' with companies
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — Nearly a third of the cattle bought by JBS SA in the Brazilian Amazon state of Para came from ranches with “irregularities” such as illegal deforestation, prosecutors found in a 2020 audit of the world’s largest meatpacker released on Thursday. In a presentation, federal prosecutors said they were “negotiating improvements” […] Read more
Cannabis firms catch whiff of opportunity in Brazil
Canadian producers among those now supplying Brazilian market
Reading Time: 3 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — International cannabis companies are showing interest in Brazil, both its large consumer market for medicinal products and a proposal that could legalize planting of the crop. Major producers such as Colombia’s Clever Leaves and Canada’s Canopy Growth are developing and selling medicinal cannabis products to a Brazilian consumer segment estimated […] Read more
Corteva launches Brazil biotech soy, tackles Bayer head-on
Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters – Corteva Agriscience said on Aug. 9 it will start selling biotech soybean seeds in Brazil, as it seeks to bolster its presence in the world’s largest producer of the oilseed and tackle German rival Bayer AG. Corteva said its Enlist soybean seeds can resist three weed killers including glyphosate, ammonium […] Read more
JBS profit bolstered by weak currency, strong Chinese and U.S. markets
China became third largest beef export market for JBS Canada, company says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — Meat processor JBS SA’s fourth-quarter profit rose 65 per cent from a year earlier, boosted by strong food sales in China and the U.S. and a sharp devaluation of Brazil’s real currency, the company said in a securities filing on Wednesday. For full-year 2020 its profit was 4.6 billion reais, […] Read more
JBS pledges net zero greenhouse emissions by 2040
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — JBS SA, the world’s largest meatpacker, has committed to zeroing the balance of its global greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, the company said on Tuesday, amid criticism of its role in a Brazilian beef industry driving rainforest destruction. “We know it is very difficult to achieve this,” CEO Gilberto Tomazoni […] Read more
JBS gears up for U.S. and Brazil expansions
Brazilian meat giant reiterates plans following strong Q3 results
Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters — Food processor JBS SA reiterated plans to grow production capacity in Brazil and in the United States after posting strong third quarter results, executives said in a conference call to discuss earnings on Thursday. CEO Gilberto Tomazoni said 12 of the company’s plants in Brazil were being expanded, as JBS […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
