BRASILIA, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Brazil’s new Agriculture Minister Katia Abreu promised to improve the country’s food safety and policies on agricultural pests to secure new export markets after she was sworn in on Monday.
She said better oversight in the world’s top exporter of soy, beef, coffee and sugar was a top priority and that phytosanitation improvements would come from better training programs and partnerships with private firms.
“Agricultural defense planning will consolidate our participation in markets where we are already and facilitate access to other markets,” she said. “Expanded foreign trade will help Brazil grow.”
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Brazil has seen some countries bar its products due to food safety concerns in recent years while the increasing number of pests in Brazil’s main cash crops like soybeans and coffee threatens its widely touted mastery of tropical farming.
Russia ended a ban on Brazilian meat imports last year after a long period of restrictions. Brazil’s cereal exporters association Anec has said concerns over crop pests are preventing Brazil from exporting more soybeans to Russia.
Abreu did not say how much would be invested to secure the goals of “standardization, transparency and security.”
Abreu, who previously presided over the powerful Brasilia-based National Confederation of Agriculture, is expected to play a more visible role as agriculture minister than her recent predecessors.
She said she would strive to double the area where crops get water from irrigation. Brazil’s southeastern region last year faced its worst drought on record, hurting cane and coffee production.
Abreu also said the sugar and ethanol industry that has faced a wave of bankruptcies and mill closures in recent years was a “complete priority” for her though she said there is no single measure she believes will fix it.
