The Brazilian agribusiness has closed this past year with another positive balance in its trade balance. In December 2022, the value of goods shipped abroad reached US$ 11.3, a 15.4% increase when compared to the same period in 2021. This positive outcome resulted in a surplus of US$ 9.9 billion.

In December, the leading product in our agribusiness export line was corn, which made up 16.4% of total exports and generated US$ 1.8 billion in revenue, a significant increase of 146% compared to the same period in 2021. The second most exported product was soybean, which saw a decline of 8.3% when compared to December 2021 and brought in US$ 1.2 billion. The other remarkable exports in the agribusiness line are raw sugarcane, fresh beef, and fresh chicken meat.

Brazil’s main export destination in December 2022 was China, with a share of 24.2%, followed by the European Union (16.7%) and the United States (7.1%). Other countries also had remarkable shares: Japan (3.4%), India (3.2%), South Korea (2.7%), Iran (2.7%), Saudi Arabia (2.3%), Vietnam (2.2%), and Russia (2.1%).

Some destination countries showed a significant performance in December 2022 compared to December 2021. Among these, the highlights are India (+166.9%), driven by soybean oil exports (an increase of US$ 189.2 million); and Iran (+78.6%), driven by corn sales (an increase of US$ 114.1 million).

Trade balance highlight: fresh chicken meat

Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of fresh chicken meat, accounting for about 14.3% of production and 33.9% of world exports. In 2022, Brazilian exports were approximately 4.6 million tons, an increase of 9.5% compared to the previous year. It is noteworthy that this is the largest volume in the analyzed period (2012-2022). The second main world exporter is the United States, with exports estimated at 3.3 million tons in 2022.

In 2022, Brazil’s fresh chicken meat exports reached an accumulated worth of US$ 9.1 billion, the best result in the period analyzed (2012-2022). This performance is 27.0% higher than that seen in the same period in 2021. In 2022, the three main destination countries for exports of the product were China (14.7% of the total); the United Arab Emirates (10.4%); and Japan (10.3%).

Concerning the commodity’s international prices, according to the World Bank, it was seen that its peak, considering the period since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in February 2020, occurred in May 2022, when the prices of fresh chicken meat reached US$ 3.70/kg. In 2022, accumulated until December, the average price per kg of fresh chicken meat is US$ 3.35, an increase of 48.5% concerning the average price in the same period of 2021. Considering only December 2022, a kilogram of fresh chicken meat was sold for US$ 3.31 (+20.6% concerning the price in December 2021).

Quésia Sá Pavão represents Brazil in one of the world’s most important events related to our food systems and their challenges, the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA). She has joined the International Young Farmers Forum, a meeting that is part of the GFFA, with a group of 20 young leaders from around the world. They will exchange experiences and find solutions for a relevant task, the “Transformation of Food Systems: a Global Response to Multiple Crises.”

An agricultural engineer from the state of Pará, Quésia will be the only Brazilian at the meeting, which is held in Berlin, Germany. She says she is honored to represent Brazil in the Forum and acknowledges the responsibility. “It is a privilege to be a voice of the country’s youth leadership, directly from the Amazon. I hope to accomplish this mission, share experiences of our food systems, and surely learn and get in touch with young people from different countries,” she highlights.

Quésia should take the experience of her research on the productive chain of açaí, the popular fruit in the Amazon region that is now conquering the world. During the fourth edition of the CNA Youth program, she developed the project to raise awareness of the uses of açaí’s seeds to ensure an adequate destination for the leftovers from the fruit’s extraction. The topic is also part of the Ph.D. in Environmental Resource Management and Conservation that she is undertaking at the Federal Rural University of the Amazon (UFRA) based in Belém, the capital city of Pará.

“The açaí seed has an incredible calorific potential that can generate energy, besides being a raw material for several sectors, including construction and even the cosmetic industry. I want to take this knowledge to the world and show that our ideas can contribute to the protection of the environment,” she explains.

Açaí is a very significant food in the diet of Northern Brazil, where its consumption dates back to pre-Columbian times. Nowadays, it is cultivated not only in the Amazon region but in several other Brazilian states; it is also exported to several countries. The fruit is processed into pulp for supplying food products manufacturers or retailers and sold as frozen pulp, juice, or an ingredient in various beverages. The seed makes up about 60% to 80% of the açaí fruit. As Quésia explains, it can be used to make concrete and other resistant objects, as well as being a raw material for cosmetic products and ornaments, as well as a source of thermal energy.

Born and raised in the rural area of the state of Pará, Quésia plans to go deeper into the subject of environmental conservation and develop the Quessaí project, spreading the importance of making full use of the fruit. “I want to take this message to the world, but mainly to raise awareness of all those involved in the fruit’s production chain,” she explains.

The German Embassy made an invitation to the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA). At the end of the conference, young farmers who are members of the GFFA will prepare a document with propositions, demands, and recommendations to be delivered to agricultural policymakers taking part in the Forum.

Brazil has 97 Geographical Indications (GIs)—of which 23 are Denominations of Origin and 74 Indications of Origin—, most of which are small businesses organized through associations and cooperatives. These are collective tools that add value to traditional products, protecting the producing region and local biodiversity, while promoting production chains that are more inclusive and fairer to the local community.

In early December, the subject was the theme of the V International Event on Geographical Indications and Collective Brands: Brazilian Origins. At the event, the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA) presented the Digitization of Brazilian GIs Project, a partnership between the CNA Institute, the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI), and the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (SEBRAE).

Marina Zimmermann, CNA’s Technical Advisor, highlighted the importance of the project at the panel “Celebration of Geographical Indications”. According to her, the project’s goal is to provide small businesses and entities applying for Brazilian coffee GIs with management, control, and traceability systems; therefore, consumers and markets can have greater assurance about the quality based on these products’ origins.

“In this first moment, the project will focus on coffee, which has 13 registered GIs, seven of which are Indications of Origin and five Denominations of Origin. Our goal is to have 50 producers and 20 coffee roasters associated with GIs from the implemented system,” explains Zimmermann.

According to the Brazilian Industrial Property Law, GIs are divided into two types: Indication of Source, featuring an area known for the production, extraction, or manufacture of a certain product; and Denomination of Origin, by which the characteristics of that territory add value to the product made or extracted there.

The V International Event of Geographical Indications and Collective Brands: Brazilian Origins was promoted by SEBRAE in Curitiba, Paraná state. The event marked the launching of the National Network of Chefs of Origin Products, which aims to promote the use and dissemination of regional ingredients in gastronomy.

The state of Paraná has a significant cheese production. From the 3 million gallons of milk produced daily, 1.3 million are allocated for cheese production. Combining the creativity of Brazilian farmers with the technical knowledge provided by the Rural Learning Service (SENAR), the activity has become renowned in the national scenario and is ready to conquer the world.

This is the case of Estância Baobá, located in the city of Jaguapitã in northern Paraná, which has been developing a different proposal that values organic and sustainable production, with animals fed exclusively on pasture.

The French-origin recipes of the producer and chef Lívia Trevisan Camefort and her husband Samuel Camefort have been collecting awards. At the last one, the 2nd World Cheese Championship, held in September, they won seven medals: four silver medals for cheese and butter, and three bronze medals for two kinds of cheese and cottage.

The couple’s path began seven years ago, with Lívia’s return to Brazil after a long stay in France. “I’ve worked for 15 years as a chef and I’ve always been passionate about cheese. So, we decided to come to Brazil in search of a more sustainable and peaceful way of life,” says the producer.

Cheese production started after Livia invested in SENAR-PR courses in the areas of dairy cattle, sheep management, and others related to agroecology. “The milk project was a challenge. As we had little experience, we had to learn everything at once,” she says.

It was a long way to test recipes and improve techniques. Today, their goal is to increase the current herd of 25 head of cattle, six of which are in lactation, and 14 sheep. Their average milk production is 60 liters per day. Lívia says that 90% of the recipes come from France, a country with tradition in cheese production and responsible for some of the best-known delicacies in the world.

According to Lívia, despite being recent, the awards obtained at the 2nd World Cheese Cup already bring positive results and new customers from different cities. “After the World Cup, the demand increased, so much so that some cheeses, like the blue mold cheese, are no longer available. This happened in just two months,” she reveals.

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