Demand for Brazilian agribusiness will continue to grow, says Chinese ambassador

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – China has been the big star of Brazilian foreign trade in recent years. For the Chinese ambassador Yang Wanming, this scenario will continue, with ample interest from Chinese companies investing in Brazilian agribusiness and sectors such as technology and infrastructure.

Wanming participated in an interview at the “Super Agro Brazil 2021” forum, organized by EXAME on Thursday 8. In a previous panel, the event also counted with the United States ambassador’s participation to Brazil, Todd Chapman.

The Chinese ambassador said that agribusiness is one of the pillars of the relationship between China and Brazil and that the partnership includes product exports and technology transfer. “We are natural and strategic partners in agricultural cooperation,” he said.

“In the context of the pandemic, the role of agriculture takes on even greater importance for Brazil, China, and the world.”

China has invested more than US$5 billion in agriculture-related projects in Brazil, according to the ambassador, on fronts such as port terminals and technology to increase production of soybeans, the Brazilian product that China most purchases.

“Chinese companies are optimistic about the future of investment in Brazil’s agricultural area and hope to keep up to date with Brazilian policies for attracting investments linked to agriculture, logistics, and infrastructure,” Wanming said.

Due to the growing demand for agricultural products, China is Brazil’s largest trading partner, with half of its sales to the country being in agricultural exports. In his speech, Wanming pointed out that China has been the largest buyer of Brazilian agricultural products for more than ten years.

For the ambassador, one of the biggest fronts for Chinese investment in Brazil, to expand the added value of Brazilian exports, will be logistics. “I realized that logistics constitutes both a bottleneck for the bilateral partnership and also offers opportunities,” he said in the interview, saying that he heard this need when visiting Chinese and Brazilian business associations.

“With the great geographical distance that separates us, it is a priority to diversify and improve the two countries’ logistics system. We can analyze the possibility of Chinese investments to improve the capillarity of transportation,” he said.

Wanming pointed out that Brazilian agribusiness exports increased by almost 10% in 2020, representing one-third of Brazilian agribusiness exports. What was sold to China alone represented the turnover with Brazil’s other five largest buyers, such as the United States and the European Union.

According to the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA), the items most shipped to the Chinese last year were soybeans, fresh beef, and cellulose, with more than US$30 billion in exports, according to the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA) based on information from the Ministry of Economy.

According to the ambassador, China is committed to increasing the added value of agricultural products exported from Brazil, investing in technology, and expanding the partnership with Brazil in “new areas”, such as “smart agriculture and organic agriculture.” The quest, he said, is for “sophisticating the level of our partnership through human resource training, joint research, technology transfer.”

“There are not just a few Chinese companies that are interested in carrying out a joint operation with Brazilian producers,” he said. “This creates conditions for Brazil to have more options for access to financing, technology, and equipment.”