Wheat is Brazil’s biggest challenge, says agriculture minister

The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Marcos Montes, said that wheat is “the biggest challenge facing Brazil and perhaps the whole world at the moment.

Montes attended the closing ceremony of the 29th International Wheat Industry Congress, organized by the Brazilian Wheat Industry Association (Abitrigo), in Foz do Iguaçu (PR) on Tuesday (27).

“The world is heading toward a very serious scenario of food insecurity, and our country has an important role to play in reducing this risk.”

“It is not an exaggeration to say that the planet depends on Brazil to feed itself, and wheat is essential in this scenario,” the minister said.

According to the minister, the research and development work to increase wheat production on national soil has achieved good results and has shown a promising future.

“We have found a path that will lead us not only to self-sufficiency but also to exports, further increasing Brazil’s importance as a food producer in the world.”

“We face many challenges, but we are working to make Brazil less and less dependent on foreign wheat, and the sector’s support is very important in this process.”

Embrapa President Celso Moretti was also present at the closing of the Congress and stressed that the research developed by Embrapa on the tropicalization of cereals is fundamental to the expansion of cereal production in Brazil.

“A few decades ago, Brazil went from being an importer to an exporter of food, and wheat will be no different. The research will help overcome the challenges faced by producers on the ground, so that the country can produce more and better, fulfilling its vocation to feed the world.”

BRAZIL EXPECTS TO REDUCE ITS DEPENDENCE ON ARGENTINE WHEAT SOON

“Who would say that Brazil is achieving self-sufficiency in wheat? In 10 years, we will be exporting the equivalent of what we consume,” Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro predicted during a tour of Mato Grosso do Sul at the end of June.

A few days later, the National Supply Company (Conab), under the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, ratified the expectation of a record crop of the fine grain in the current campaign by raising from 8.35 to 9.03 million tons its estimate of production in 2022, which, if achieved, would imply a 17.6% jump compared to the 7.68 million tons of 2021.

Thus, Brazil, the always captive market of Argentine wheat, takes the first steps to reduce its dependence on imported grain and to capitalize on the momentum generated by the price hike, accentuated after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.