WHY BRAZIL?

Brazil is the main economy in Latin America and one of the top 10 countries in the world in population, landmass and GDP of USD 1.88 trillion.

As a major player in international trade, Brazil has proven to be an open and vibrant country with a diversified economy, and one of the largest consumer markets in the world with more than 209 million people and a strong and steady domestic demand for services, goods and agricultural products.

It also has a highly productive agriculture sector, a broad and sophisticated industrial base, one of the most solid and prudently regulated financial sectors in the G20, the largest stock market in Latin America and abundant natural resources.

According to UNCTAD, Brazil remains among the top 10 recipients of FDI in the world and is the only Latin American country on that list. Inward FDI fl ows in Brazil totalled over USD 1 trillion from 2010 to 2018, averaging USD 122 billion per year, according to data from the Central Bank of Brazil.

Brazil is open to foreign direct investment and continues to attract leading and innovative international businesses thanks to profitable opportunities underpinned by robust domestic investor protection rules enforced by an independent, credible judiciary and a fair regulatory environment, providing security for investors.

Brazil is one of the top producers and exporters of ethanol biofuel in the world.

Renewable sources are responsible for over 80% of Brazil’s electricity generation, one of the highest levels in the world. With Brazil’s large supply of water, hydroelectric power provides over 60% of Brazil’s electricity needs. Wind, biomass and solar energy shares continue to grow.

Its biodiversity is also a vast source of wealth. The country is water rich, estimated to hold the world’s biggest freshwater reserves.

Agriculture play a major role in Brazil’s economy. It was the third largest food exporting country in 2016, according to the most recent study from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The country is among the top producers and exporters of a wide range of commodities, including biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel), soybeans, coffee, oranges, poultry, beef, pork, forest products.

Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of beef, orange juice, sugar, coff ee and iron ore and competes with the US to be the world’s biggest soya bean exporter. Agriculture employs 13.1% of the workforce.

As the 8-th largest economy in the world, Brazil has it all: a huge domestic market, natural resources, developed industries, vast amounts of land, and a favorable investment environment.

KEY REASONS FOR INVESTING IN AGROBUISINESS IN BRAZIL

With a modern, efficient and competitive agriculture, Brazil has become one of the world’s largest agricultural producers and exporters over the last two decades. Productivity gains, management effi ciency, research, innovation, and technological development have revolutionized the country’s agribusiness sector.

• Brazil has a suitable environment and conditions to increase its food production, combining 12% of the world’s water supply and one of the largest arable land areas in the world.
• Native vegetation covers 66.3% of the territory, while only 30.2% of the territory is used for farming (257 million hectares), of which 9% (76.6 million ha) are used for crops and planted forests and 21.2% for pastures (112.4 million ha planted and 68.1 million ha native).
• Brazilian agricultural production has been steadily rising over the last decades, due to the intensive use of technology in machinery, equipment and genetics.

These factors have pushed up the productivity of farms, especially for commodities.

Despite all achievements made by Brazilian Agriculture today, there is still considerable room for growth in the agricultural sector.

In the last 40 years, the yield of the main crops increased 266%, while the expansion of planted area along the same period was only 33%, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA).

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) expects that global demand for food will increase by 50% until 2050, and that Brazil alone will account for 40% of the food production growth necessary to meet the demand.

Because of such technological advances, the total production of grains is expected to reach 301.8 million tons by the 2027/2028 season, up from the current 248.3 million for the 2018/2019 season. The country is expected to take on a larger role in global agricultural trade.

FAO and OECD rank Brazil as the second largest global supplier of food and agricultural products, on the path to become the foremost supplier in meeting additional global demand, mostly originating from Asia. Its influence is even larger for specific products: Brazil will be responsible for more than 45% of global sugar exports, while becoming the world leader for beef and poultry, with export shares of 18% and 36%, respectively.