Brazil implements public food stock policy to ensure domestic supply

After a six-year hiatus, the Brazilian government has reintroduced the policy of public food stocks, a measure aimed at securing minimum prices for agricultural products, ensuring farmers’ income, and regulating domestic food supply.

The National Supply Company (Conab), a state-owned entity, announced the purchase of 500,000 tons of corn from rural producers through the Federal Government Procurement mechanism under the Minimum Price Guarantee Policy.

This purchase, authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, amounts to approximately 8.3 million 60-kilogram bags of corn, totaling 350 million reais (around US$72 million).

Edegar Pretto, the president of Conab, explained that this measure was implemented in response to the projected record corn harvest, which could have led to a decline in prices.

Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, emphasized the importance of strengthening Conab to support Brazil’s agricultural policy.

However, he clarified that this move does not infringe on market sovereignty but rather aims to ensure national food security.

Fávaro stated, “It is a strategy to guarantee the stability of national food security because agriculture cannot exist without a public enterprise.”

According to Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture Paulo Teixeira, the formation of public regulatory stocks will help combat food inflation, ensure Brazilian food sovereignty, and work towards removing the country from the United Nations Hunger Map.

Last year, 33.1 million people in Brazil experienced food insecurity, as the Brazilian Research Network on Food and Nutritional Sovereignty and Security reported.

The implementation of the public food stock policy seeks to benefit the people by preventing fluctuations in food prices that hinder access to adequate nutrition, emphasized government officials.

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