The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Tereza Cristina, met this Monday (14) with representatives of Canadian fertilizer companies to discuss the current situation in the sector, with the reduction in exports of inputs from Russia and Belarus. During the meetings, the Minister stressed the importance for Canadian companies to increase their supply to Brazil.

Canpotex, which exports potash from the two main mining companies in Canada, informed the minister that it intends to increase the volume of its sales in Brazil beyond the current 4 million tons per year. “We continue to discuss with several suppliers so that our agro continues to guarantee the food security of Brazil and the world”, underlined the minister.

Tereza Cristina also met the presidents of Brasil Potash, Gensource, Nutrien and Fertilizer Canada, as well as Canada’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Paul Samson. During the meetings, the Minister spoke about the importance of potassium for food production in Brazil.

“For Brazil to continue to increase its food supply and contribute to global food security, we will need an adequate supply of this input. This means not only securing current levels of purchases, but also increasing them. We can and must strengthen our ties and strengthen long-term partnerships, with a view to ensuring the stability and profitability of all links in the production chain. This means, in practice, food in quantity and quality at affordable prices on everyone’s table,” said Tereza Cristina. Besides maintaining and expanding the fertilizer business, the minister invited companies to explore investment in projects in Brazil.

Brazil imports approximately 85% of all fertilizers used in domestic agricultural production. In the case of potassium, the percentage imported is around 95%. Currently, Brazil is the world’s fourth-largest fertilizer consumer, accounting for about 8% of the total, and the world’s largest importer. In 2021, Brazilian fertilizer imports exceeded 41 million tons, which is equivalent to more than 14 billion US dollars.

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