Bolsonaro: Russia’s fertilizer supplies to Brazil to be doubled

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro said Wednesday, Dec. 16, that fertilizer shipments from Russia to Brazil will be doubled. In addition, a factory will be reactivated in Três Lagoas in Mato Grosso do Sul to produce the inputs, which are important for the country’s agricultural industry.

These issues were discussed at a meeting Bolsonaro held with businessmen in Moscow, where the head of government met with President Vladimir Putin to discuss topics that can strengthen the trade agenda between the two countries.

“We have a chance that it (the fertilizer plant) will be operational as early as the middle of the year,” Bolsonaro said in an interview with Jovem Pan Radio. However, he indicated that Brazil will continue to rely on fertilizers from other countries.

Expanding fertilizer supplies to Brazil was the main point of the president’s trip to Russia. As heard on political radio, the shortage of fertilizer could put significant pressure on food prices, fueling inflation – the president’s nightmare in an election year.

NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

Of the meeting with the Russian president, Bolsonaro says the head of state was “stunned” by the lack of response to the 2018 stabbing and that he “doesn’t understand why the crime hasn’t been solved yet.”

He also indicated that he has confidence in Putin, but denied that he has political relations with the Russian leader. “You can’t do good business if you don’t have confidence in politics,” he said.

The Brazilian leader also revealed that the ministers of defense, Walter Braga Netto, and foreign affairs, Carlos França, have spoken with the heads of their respective departments in Russia about issues such as nuclear energy. “We are interested in small nuclear power plants to supply medium and large cities,” he explained.