Biofuel makes vegetable oil cheaper and food increases – 04/10/2024 – Vaivém

Oil rises, pushing up the prices of vegetable oils used in biofuel production, and the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) Food Price Index for March was 1.1% above that of February. It is the first global increase in food prices after seven months of decline.

The main increase in prices came from vegetable oils, which, in March, became 8% more expensive than in February. The increases came from palm, soybean, sunflower and rapeseed oils. On average, they recorded the highest value in one year.

Palm oil production was lower, and demand from Asia grew. The global rise in soybean oil was due to greater demand for the product in the biofuel sector, mainly in Brazil and the United States. According to FAO, the increase in vegetable oil prices was also due to the increase in oil prices.

Vegetable oils were not alone in this pressure. FAO also highlights the readjustment of meat and dairy products.

After a price peak in 2022, meat was falling on the international market. In March 2022, a ton of beef reached US$6,250. It dropped to US$4,650 in February 2023, and returned to US$5,000 this year. Chicken and pork, with greater demand, also rose again.

Dairy products reverse the trend and rise again. Lower supply, due to the drop in production in important regions, such as Oceania, and greater imports by Asian countries forced a 3% increase in March prices, compared to February. Regarding March 2023, however, there is still a drop of 8.2%.

This same trend occurs in Brazil, where lower milk intake causes disputes between dairy products, boosting domestic prices.

The global increase in food prices is not greater this year because cereals continue to fall. In March, the decline was 2.6% compared to February, but accumulated a 20% drop in 12 months.

Competition between exporters and prospects for a better harvest are causing the third monthly drop in wheat prices. In corn and sorghum, the increase is discreet, while rice has decreased by 1.7%.

Rice is starting to see a less tense scenario than last year, when several countries imposed barriers to exports, including India, which holds 40% of the world’s cereal market.

According to the IGC (International Grains Council), world production for the 2024/25 harvest is expected to be 521 million tons, surpassing that of 2023/24, estimated at 511 million. Consumption will be 519 million, and world stocks increase to 169 million tons.

Beef Brazil is expected to open the Turkish market in the coming days with an annual quota of 20 thousand tons. The sector expects progress in this initial volume, given the good cost-benefit ratio of Brazilian protein.

Coffee A bag of Robusta costs more than R$1,000 and is close to the value of Arabica, which is traditionally much higher.

Coffee 2 A year ago, the value of a bag of Robusta coffee corresponded to 58% of that of an Arabica type. This week, this ratio is 90%, according to Cepea quotation monitoring data.

Coffee 3 Faced with this variation in prices and difficulties in supply, due to geopolitical events in the world, the sector will evaluate the global scenario and look for ways forward at an international seminar held by the Santos Commercial Association next month, in Santos (SP).

Exports Soybean output through Brazilian ports is expected to reach 15.3 million tons this month, according to Anec (National Association of Cereal Exporters).

Exports 2 If confirmed, the volume from January to April this year will total 52 million tons, close to the 52.8 million in the same period last year

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