South America Calling

Brazil's Tight Ethanol Supply

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:46:00 GMT

It happens around this time every year - Brazil's sugarcane harvest comes to a close, ethanol supply tightens, prices begin to rise, and consumers start to complain.

Brazil To Change Foreign Exchange Rules

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Brazil's central bank head, Henrique Meirelles, confirmed last week that the government is studying changes to its foreign exchange policy in order to curb further strengthening of the Brazilian real.

Brazil Crop Outlook Remains Steady

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:20:00 GMT

Brazil's crop research agency Conab maintained its estimate for the 2009-10 soybean crop at around 63 million metric tons, as planting reaches the halfway mark amid favorable weather conditions.

Corn Stocks Remain High In Mato Grosso

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:07:00 GMT

Farmers in Mato Grosso state, the country's largest grain producer, still have close to 2 million metric tons of corn left over from the winter crop, and will need to sell before January to make space for the summer soybean crop, according to the state's grain producers group Aprosoja.

Fertilizer Sales Pick Up Pace, But Still Lag Last Yr

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:09:00 GMT

Despite the sharp drop in fertilizer prices this year, sales continue to lag last year both in volume and revenue terms.

Brazil Soy Planting Advances Amid Heavy Rain

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:40:00 GMT

Brazilian farmers had planted over 35 percent of expected soybean area up to last week, or 6 percentage points more than the same time last year, despite heavy rains in most regions.

Brazil To Plant 40% Of Area With GM Corn

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:54:00 GMT

Around 40 percent of Brazil's 2009-10 corn crop will be genetically modified, according to seed growers association Abrasem.

Travel

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:21:00 GMT

I will be traveling this week and will notupdate the blog again until Nov. 2.

Syngenta Chemicals Seized in Brazil

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:50:00 GMT

Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency, known as Anvisa, yesterday seized 150,000 liters (40,000 gallons) of chemicals, deemed to be irregular, from multinational chemical and seed company Syngenta.

Chinese Glyphosate Floods Brazil Market

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:30:00 GMT

The love fest between Brazil and China continues to blossom. Now only does China buy over 40 percent of Brazil's soybeans, it is now helping to push down production costs.

Brazil Taxes Speculative Foreign Capital

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:18:00 GMT

Brazil's currency, the real, weakened a couple of percent yesterday after the government announced it will place a 2 percent tax on short term foreign capital entering the country's stock and futures exchanges.

Brazil To Tighten Foreign Land Ownership

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:24:00 GMT

This was the headline being run by some media outlets in recent days, but before anyone panics, Brazil hasn't been taken over by Venezuela's Chavez, or Bolivia'a Morales.

Brazil Approves Three New GM Varieties

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:03:00 GMT

Brazilian farmers are fast catching up with the rest of the world in terms of seed technology.

Argentine Farmers Concerned About Seed Quality

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:29:00 GMT

The latest concern from Argentina is regarding the quality of soybean seeds to be used for the upcoming planting season.

SLC Goes On Spending Spree

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:03:00 GMT

SLC, the world's first publicly listed company to focus exclusively on primary agricultural production, has gone on a spending spree over the past two weeks, buying up almost 45,000 acres of land in Brazil's frontier regions.