Argentina imports 65% less food from Brazil in the first two months – 03/13/2024 – Vaivém

Imports of food products from Argentina, made in Brazil, fell 65% in the first two months of this year, compared to the same period last year.

Brazilian imports made in the neighboring country increased by 5% in the same period. The Argentines, after purchases worth US$238 million from January to February 2023, spent US$85 million this year.

The sharp drop in Argentine food imports into the Brazilian market is not due to threats by President Javier Milei, who took office in December, to reduce bilateral trade with several countries, including China and Brazil.

The flow of trade between Brazil and Argentina was marked by atypical situations last year, both on the side of Argentine and Brazilian imports.

Argentines experienced one of the worst droughts in recent decades, being forced to purchase 226 thousand tons of soybeans from Brazil in the first two months of last year, worth US$125 million. This year, they purchased only 9,704 tons.

The Argentine soybean harvest, which fell to 20 million tons in 2023, returns to normal in 2024 and could be close to 50 million tons.

On the Brazilian side, there was a reduction in Argentine wheat imports to 558 thousand tons in the first two months of 2023. Brazilians had a record harvest of 10.6 million tons in 2022, reducing the need for external purchases.

Now there is an exchange of signals. With the increase in the soybean harvest in Argentina, Argentines no longer depend on the Brazilian product.

Brazilians, with the wheat harvest falling to 8.1 million tons last year, will depend more on cereal from their neighbors this year.

In the first two months of 2024, Brazil has already imported 1.1 million tons of Argentine wheat, 90% more than in the same period of 2023, according to data from Secex (Secretariat of Foreign Trade).

Brazilian dependence on the Argentine market also includes barley, malt, rice, milk, onions, garlic, potatoes, fruits and olive oil.

On the Argentine side, with reduced soybean imports, the biggest needs for Brazilian products by its neighbors are cocoa, coffee and meat.

Spending on cocoa and derivatives rose to US$22 million this year, while that on coffee decreased to US$8.7 million.

Argentine meat imports into the Brazilian market also fall. After reaching US$11.4 million from January to February last year, they are at US$6 million this year.

Both Brazilian and Argentine spending on imports were greatly influenced by the behavior of international prices. Coffee and meat have left the peak recorded two years ago and have lower values ​​on the international market. Cocoa and olive oil took the opposite path and maintained a strong acceleration.

Milk The average net price of a liter rose to R$2.3 in January in the country, 5% more than in December, but is still 20% below the value of January last year. It is the third month of increase, according to Embrapa monitoring. It will reach the consumer’s pocket.

Milk 2 With the recovery in prices, the exchange ratio improved for the producer. In January, 40.8 liters of milk were needed per 60 kilos of mixture (70% corn and 30% soybean meal). A year ago, it was 43.9 liters.

Milk 3 Imports in the first two months of this year rose to 387 million liters, 28% more than in the same period in 2023.

Robot in the sector Artificial intelligence, internet of things and machine intelligence will change work patterns within agribusinesses.

Robot in sector 2 Paraná startup Human Robotics, from Curtitiba (PR), launches an autonomous robot that helps with transportation within these agro-industries.

On the rise The global robotics market is growing and could reach US$260 billion in 2030. In Brazil, it is expected to reach US$390 million in 2027.

On the rise 2 For the startup’s executives, local manufacturing of the devices will reduce production costs in the long term.

LINK PRESENT: Did you like this text? Subscribers can access five free accesses from any link per day. Just click the blue F below.