Today, soy exports on course for a record in 2021. Ex-Health Ministers criticize Bolsonaro in Covid inquiry. Manaus braced for a third coronavirus wave, while the city is rocked by floods.
Commodity prices skyrocket amid record-setting harvest
Brazil’s top 15 agricultural products became more expensive over Q1 2021 when compared to the same period of last year. Soybean prices rose more than any other, almost doubling over the past 12 months. Gains came not only from higher international prices — with demand on the rise — but also by way of a weaker Brazilian Real. “However, exchange rates may also bear a negative impact on crops dependent on imported inputs,” say researchers Ana Cecília Kreter and José Ronaldo Souza, of the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea).
Why it matters. According to preliminary data, Brazil’s trade balance rose 70 percent in April 2021 when compared to the same month of 2020. And the record-setting 17 million tons of soybean exports played an important role in that.
Prospects. Brazil’s main agricultural exporting product, soy should set a new export record of 85.6 million tons this year — amounting to 50 percent of global sales. These forecasts come in stark contrast to initial...