The world economic dynamic cannot keep stable after India and China became economic giants. In a planet with 6,7 billion– and increasing- people, we could suppose that everything that produces energy to move this human mass would have high value..

It is in this world of increasing demand that Brazilian agro-business gain huge importance. After decades of work, technological research and almost silent investments, Brazil appears in international scene able to produce food and energy. It's also in this scenario that the most productive aspect of Brazilian field can shine.

In 2008, Brazilian producers may have the biggest grain harvest in history – 142 million tons. This is almost 8% higher than what they reached in 2007 harvest. When Brazilian companies added modern management and mechanisms from the capital markets, they also became the world leaders in the production of cattle and chicken meat, and produced the most competitive and economic viable ethanol on the planet and stepped forward in other types of bioenergy.

The world needs food and energy desperately and Brazil is ready today to deliver.

When the country gained stature as food and energy provider, it also became a target of global interest. This is when challenges and obstacles appear and they can not be ignored.

Whether they like it or not, agreeing or disagreeing with subjacent(?) reasons and critics' ideas, Brazilian businesspeople from agri-business need to find alternatives to reconcile high production volume and competitive prices with the new sustainability concepts that are molding the markets and the consumers of the world.

Is it possible to be an efficient food and energy producer without destroying natural resources? Is it possible to have competitive prices and at the same time respect individual and worker rights? Is it possible to use technology rationally? Experience shows that it is possible.

What used to sound unlikely until some time ago – big scale agricultural production that also excels in environmental sustainability – became not just possible but incorporated, in what is a still restricted group, of Brazilian enterprises' reality. They do not invest in more responsible practices because they sympathize with the green cause or social issues. This was the result, mostly because of the perception that agri-business survival is dependent on not wasting natural resources and on the new challenges created by market dynamic.

Themes such as Amazon deforestation, slave labor, the burning of sugar cane plantations and sanitary negligence became powerful argument for those who tried to limit entrance of Brazilian products into some markets.

One way to protect themselves from these accusations it was for Brazilian farmers to adopt responsible agricultural practices. In some Brazilian farms, several actions were implemented to minimize impacts on the environment, to reduce the use of chemical products and to improve labor conditions. One of the biggest concerns it was to reduce energy consumption.

Examples of some of the actions adopted are the reduction in the use of chemical products and better labor conditions. In warehouses and grain and cotton processing units on the farms, older engines were substituted by more efficient models, which minimizes the energy consumption. Some pork farms invested in the construction of bio-digesters to create an environmentally friendly destiny for animal rests.

Some of these farms received the Globalgap certificate. Globalgap is an entity created by the biggest network wholesale and trading companies of Europe. This certificate is given to producers who adopt good environmental and social practices. There are many benefits to Globalgap certificates. One of the most important is that it helps to improve the enterprise's image, especially in external market – a fundamental issue for sectors that were questioned in the last few years, such as abattoirs. Some of the most important actions adopted by Brazilian abattoirs include not using (suo) of native trees, which are used in the pots that produce steam to clean the abattoirs. Some of them are substituting wood with cow fat, which is already used to produce biodiesel to fuel trucks. These are some of the sustainable actions that are working very well in environmental and social responsible production.

Below are the 10 main agricultural products from Brazil: cotton, cattle, coffee, sugar cane, chicken, oranges, milk, corn, soya, and pork.

• Soya
Increase in scale and efficiency
Productivity grows faster than the crop area increase.


Soya is the main product in Brazil in terms of crop area. It is grown in 20 Brazilian states. The central-west region, with Mato Grosso as the leader, is the biggest national producing area and it is responsible for almost half of the Brazilian harvest. It is followed by southern region, which had its participation reduced from 90% 30 years ago to 34% nowadays.

Northeast region is becoming more important for soya and represents 7% of Brazilian production. What is remarkable is the fact that productivity is growing faster than the increase in crop area.

In 1990, the average soya harvest was 1700 kg per hectare. In 2006, the average per hectare reached 2400 kg, 40% more. The efficiency increase helped Brazil to become the second biggest soya producer in the world, behind USA, who has kept the leadership in soya exports in the last few years. In 2007, soy and its derivatives created $11,4 billion income for the country, 19,5% of total exports by Brazilian agri-business.

The major Brazilian producing states
State	Production (In millions of tons)	Percentage
1º Mato Grosso	15,6
2º Paraná	9,4
3º Rio Grande do Sul	7,6
4º Goiás	6
5º Mato Grosso do Sul	4,1
Other states	9,7

• Bovines
The new cattle frontier.
Agriculture pushes cattle to cheaper lands and move cattle meat production to the North region.


In Brazil, cattle farming have been a typical activity of the pioneers of the new agricultural frontiers. Cattle are extensively bred in pastures. When land value increase, the land is used for agriculture, pushing the animals to the cheaper land.

Cattle farming have increased mostly in the northern region, especially in Rondônia and Pará, and it is decreasing in center-south region.

Brazil owns the second biggest cattle herd in the world, behind only India. Brazil is also the second biggest producer of meat in the world, behind only USA. In 2007 Brazil sold meat to 129 countries – compared to only 68 countries 10 years ago - , with an income of $3 billion.

The country became the biggest world exporter of meat, even though it does not have access to important markets such as USA (fresh meat), Japan, México, and South Korea, which represent almost half the world's importers of cattle.

The biggest Brazilian herds
State	Production (In millions of heads)	Percentage
1º Mato Grosso	26,1
2º Mato Grosso do Sul	23,7
3º Minas Gerais	22,2
4º Goiás	20,6
5º Pará	17,5
Other states	95,8
Total	205,9	100%

• Swine
Looking for new markets!
Sanitary certification in Santa Catarina creates a positive export scenario.


As the fourth biggest producer of pork meat in the world, Brazil made $1,2 billion in 2007, 20% more than the year before.

With this, this sector recovered from the losses after discovering foot and mouth disease in Mato Grosso do Sul and Paraná in 2005. Good news is that Santa Catarina, the biggest producer of pork meat in Brazil, was certified in May 2007 to be free of foot and mouth disease without vaccination from the International Animal Health Organization. Because of this sanitation issue, this product was not allowed into countries that represent 60% of world market. There now is a big expectation of opening new international markets.

The major Brazilian herds
State	Number of heads (In millions of heads)	Percentage
1º Santa Catarina	7,2
2º Paraná	4,5
3º Rio Grande do Sul	4,3
4º Minas Gerais	3,9
5º Bahia	2
Other states	13,3
Total	35,2	100%

• Poultry
A $4 billion bussines.
Brazil must maintain its lead as the biggest chicken exporter in the world.


Brazil is the world leader in chicken exports since 2004, when it beat USA. After a decrease in exports because of bird flu in Europe and Asia, Brazil recovered in 2007, with a record income of $2,6 billion. The USA Department of Agriculture reckons that Brazil will consolidate to become the biggest chicken exporter in the world, outpacing its main competitors, the USA, the European Union, Thailand, and China

The major Brazilian flocks
State	Number of heads (In millions of heads)	Percentage
1º Paraná	160,7
2º São Paulo	139,8
3º Santa Catarina	138
4º Rio Grande do Sul	111,2
5º Minas Gerais	67,3
Other states	204,5
Total	35,2	100%

• Sugar Cane
Expansion driven by ethanol.
Sugar cane crop is spread over 6 million hectares thanks to the green fuel demand.


Sugar cane is grown in 27 Brazilian states. São Paulo is the main producer, with almost 60% of the production, followed by Paraná, Minas Gerais and Alagoas.

Even in places that are far below this ranking, there are important sugar cane areas, such as Goytacazes, in Rio de Janeiro, with 6 production plants.

Sugar cane production had a big increase in the last decade because of the demand for sugar and alcohol. In 2006, sugar cane plantation covered 6,2 million hectares, or 2,5% of the total area of the countries agricultural activity, lagging behind only soya and corn. Nowadays Brazil is the biggest producer of sugar cane in the world, (19% of total) and the second biggest producer of ethanol (33%, behind only USA, with 36%).

The major Brazilian producing states
State	Production (In millions of tons)	Percentage
1º São Paulo	269,1
2º Paraná	33,9
3º Minas Gerais	32,2
4º Alagoas	23,5
5º Goiás	19
Other states	79,5
Total	457,2	100%

• Cotton
A recovering market.
After a period of shrinking crop areas, exports in this sector returns, grows and beats records.


Cotton cultivation is distributed over 18 Brazilian states, but 2 of them – Mato Grosso and Bahia – are responsible for almost 80% of national production. Nowadays Brazil is the fifth largest producer of cotton in the world, with a little less than 6% of global volume and behind only China, India, USA and Pakistan.

Low cotton prices in the 2005 harvest made the crop areas decrease in 2006. This decrease was reflected in export of textile products. Textile exports has, since 2003, represented a big trend. In 2007 export increased again and reached $2,4 billion; a historical record – double the value registered in the beginning of the decade.

The major Brazilian producing states
State	Production(In millions of tons)	Percentage
1º Mato Grosso	1438
2º Bahia	810
3º Goiás	206
4º São Paulo	144
5º Minas Gerais	100
Other states	203
Total	2898	100%

• Oranges

São Paulo state is the lead producer, with almost 80% of total harvest, but the orange plantations are relocating to other regions.

The oranges supply mainly juice industries, which got, in 2007, the record income of $1,5 billion. This income increase happened because of an international price increase due to low production in the USA. Nowadays, Brazil is the world leader in production and export of orage juice. Because of the advance of sugar cane in Sao Paulo state, orange production will increase in the south and northeast region in the next few years.

The major Brazilian producing states
State	Production (In millions of tons)	Percentage
1º São Paulo	14,4
2º Bahia	0,9
3º Sergipe	0,7
4º Minas Gerais	0,5
5º Paraná	0,4
Other states	1
Total	18	100%

• Corn
Opportunities in the external market.
The demand created by USA for etanol opens a new market for Brazil.


Corn is a cereal that was traditionally produced in Brazil for internal consumption. In the last 2 years, a new market opened. Since USA is directing an increasing volume of corn to produce ethanol, Brazil has the opportunity to feed the international market. In 2007, Brazil exported $1,9 billion in corn, almost 4 times more than the year before. For the country to increase its participation in the corn market, it is necessary to increase productivity and reduce costs. Nowadays the average harvest is less than 3500 kg corn per hectare – less than half of Americans harvest.

The major Brazilian producing states
State	Production (in millions of tons)	Percentage
1º Paraná	11,2
2º Minas Gerais	5,2
3º Rio Grande do Sul	4,5
4º São Paulo	4,4
5º Mato Grosso	4,2
Other states	13,1
Total	42,6	100%

• Milk
From buyer to big exporter.
Production increase consistently and must encourage selling abroad.


In the beginning of this decade, Brazil was one of the biggest importers of milk in the world. Now the country is on its way to become an important exporter. In 2007, the milk products sold to other countries brought in $346 million, 81% more than the year before. Cities like São Félix do Xingu, in Pará state, produces more than 65.000 liters per year.

It is possible to increase production without increase cattle pasture. It is about improving animal farming methods. Today Brazilian dairy farmers take, on average, 1500 liters of milk per cow in a year, while in New Zealand the production is about 4000 liters per cow.

The major Brazilian producing states
State	Production (in billions of liters)	Percentage
1º Minas Gerais	7,1
2º Paraná	2,7
3º Rio Grande do Sul	2,6
4º Goiás	2,6
5º São Paulo	1,7
Other states	8,7
Total	25,4	100%

• Coffee
Plantations located in the Southeast region.
The goal of the next few years is to increase the export of industrialized coffee.


Coffee cultivation is spread over about 1850 cities in 17 Brazilian states. The main production, however, is located in southeast region.

Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and São Paulo combined are responsible for more than 80% of the market. Nowadays Brazil is the world biggest producer and exporter of coffee (It occupies the second position in terms of consumption, behind only USA). The biggest part of Brazilian export is of green coffee (in beans). One of the goals of the coffee sector is to increase the sales of toasted and soluble coffee, because of its higher value. Countries that import the Brazilian beans, such as Italy and Germany, are among the main producers of industrialized coffee in the world.

The major Brazilian producing states
State	Production (1000's of tons)	Percentage
1º Minas Gerais	1325
2º Espírito Santo	551
3º São Paulo	260
4º Bahia	150
5º Paraná	135
Other states	152
Total	2573	100%