Brazil: 10 agribusiness events that show the strength of the sector in 2022

Check out facts that show the country’s power in production, exports, technologies and research in the sector that accounts for a large share of Brazil’s GDP.

Agriculture, which has represented over 25% of Brazil’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the last decade, was, and will continue to be, a fundamental sector for the country’s economy. 

Although there are challenges, as occurred post Covid-19 pandemic, with the disorganization of supply chains and high production costs, an increasingly consistent layer of producers manages to organize the management of their properties in search of a smaller impact on the structure of their business.

In 2022, the agribusiness sector presents record numbers and facts to be remembered for its capacity and resilience. The agribusiness production chains, which also involve what happens before the gate – with the production of inputs and machines – and after the gate – with trade and agroindustry, in addition to science and research, are engines that do not stop.

There are several others, but Forbes chose 10 data from the sector in 2022, in production, exports, technologies and research that give a sample of the power of the sector in the country:

1 – Exports are worth US$150 billion

Export data already show a historic record in values, just missing the month of December in the final account for 2022. So far, sales abroad have generated US$148.3 billion, compared to US$120.5 billion in 2021. With December sales also robust – in 2021 they were US$9.8 billion –, Brazil will close the year, for the first time in its history, with a value above US$150 billion. With one detail: imports of agricultural products remain at the same level of US$15 billion, as has occurred in recent years, showing a fantastic surplus.

2 – 10 times US$10 billion per month

The first time that the agro sector exported more than US$10 billion in a single month occurred in March 2012. In the following years, breaking this barrier was something sporadic, but growing. Until 2021, a record broke: in seven months, from March to September, the country exported above that figure, a record broken in 2022. This year, there were 10 months with exports above US$10 billion (which can reach 11 months , with the closing of December sales). For now, the record for the year occurred in June, with exports worth a total of US$15.6 billion, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA).

3 – Wheat on the agenda

In the last five years, the Brazilian production of wheat grew 76%. The 2022 results show the largest wheat harvest in the history of Brazil, reaching 9.5 million tonnes of grain. The country is the 8th largest global importer, but this position may change in the coming years, with an increase in production for domestic consumption and also for export.

The estimate by Anec (National Association of Grain Exporters) is that sales abroad will reach a record 3.17 million tonnes shipped this year. Wheat is the second most consumed grain by humanity, representing about 30% of world grain production.

4 – Export of chicken meat

Not counting December, Brazil has already exported 4.4 million tonnes of chicken meat for US$8.977 billion, according to data from ABPA (Brazilian Association of Animal Protein). Although China bought a little less, compared to 2021, the Asian country remains the main customer. This year, between January and November, agro shipped 494,000 tonnes there. Next come the United Arab Emirates, with 410,000 tonnes, and Japan, with 384,000 tonnes.

5 – Beef for the world

The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) forecast is that Brazil will close the year 2022 with a production of 9.8 million tonnes of beef. If the data is confirmed, it is a fact that Brazil has already produced a little more, but in terms of exports, shipments are already a record for the sector. On Monday (26), the “Brazilian Beef Exportometer”, which shows shipments in real time on the Abiec (Brazilian Association of the Meat Export Industry) website, showed 2,235 thousand tonnes, for US$13.1 billion.

6 – Corn with a record

Corn took a while, but it definitely entered Brazil’s agricultural export agenda. The country should end 2022 with 42.6 million tonnes of corn shipped, a growth of more than 100% compared to the volume of 20.6 million tonnes in 2021.

That’s what Anec (National Association of Grain Exporters) says. The data for the year include the estimate of shipments in December, which should be above 5 million tonnes, based on the schedule of ships and shipments already carried out. Exports are benefiting from the recent authorization of the Chinese to the Brazilian grain, before more attended by the Ukraine and the European Union.

7 – Agtechs on the rise

Brazil is closing the year 2022 with 1,703 agtechs in activity, 8% more than 2021, according to mapping “Radar Agtech Brasil”, a partnership between Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), with consultancies SP Ventures and Homo Ludens. An unprecedented survey by gender shows that 520 agtechs (30%) are under the command of women. By grouping, the two highlights are credit, barter, insurance, carbon credits and fiduciary analysis, with 61 agtechs, and fertilizers, inoculants and plant nutrition with 53 agtechs.

8 – Protected pasture

Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) sent, for the first time, pasture seeds to be stored at the Bank of Svalbard, in Norway. The Brazilian material came from the Active Germplasm Bank of Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste, from São Carlos (SP), and from Embrapa Cerrados, from Planaltina (DF).

Known as “Noah’s Ark”, the creation of the bank was an extension to the world of the Nordic Gene Bank, which since 1984 had already stored in an abandoned coal mine, located in Svalbard. The bank offers secure, free, long-term storage of seed samples, functioning like a vault. Brazil has 154 million hectares of pasture, one of the largest areas in the world, and a herd of close to 200 million cattle.

9 – GI of tropical wines

A historical fact of the agro happened to the vitiviniculture of the country. The INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property) recognized the first GI (Geographical Indication) for tropical wines, the first in the world, based on requirements equivalent to those of the European Union. The nomination was granted to the São Francisco River Valley, a demand by Vinhovasf (Wine Institute of the São Francisco Valley), a private, non-profit institution that brings together winegrowers and wineries in the wine producing region.

The establishments located in the Submedium São Francisco River Valley, in the Pernambuco municipalities of Petrolina, Lagoa Grande and Santa Maria da Boa Vista, in addition to Casa Nova and Curaçá, in Bahia.

10 – Younger rural population

Unlike other countries, where the rural population is increasingly older, Brazil takes the opposite path. The generation that runs businesses in the countryside has never been younger. This is what the 8th ABMRA Survey – Habits of the Rural Producer, carried out by the Brazilian Association of Rural Marketing, showed. The current average age is 45.4 years, compared to an average of 46.5 years in 2017 and 48 years in 2013.

By age groups, divided into 18-25 years old, 25-35 years old, 35-40 years old, the participation of these generations grew in relation to 2013, while in the upper age groups, for groups of 41-50 years old, 51- 60 years old and over 60 years old, participation in business decisions has been falling. This does not mean that the elders are out of decisions, but that they are sharing what must be done.

With information from Forbes