Brazil's agriculture minister urges Korea to open farming markets
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Blairo Maggi, Brazil’s minister of agriculture, livestock and food supply, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Ritz-Carlton in Yeoksam-dong, southern Seoul, Wednesday. / Korea TImes photo by Choi Won-suk
By Yi Whan-woo
Brazil and Korea should widen their respective market for each other’s top export items to vitalize economic cooperation, a top Brazilian government official said in Seoul last week.
Blairo Maggi, Brazil’s minister of agriculture, livestock and food supply, said the two countries can benefit from their respective major industries.
Brazil is one of the world’s largest exporters of agricultural and livestock products, including sugar, coffee, orange juice, soybeans, beef, chicken and maize.
Korea leads in international sales of electronic goods, cars and other manufactured goods.
“Their respective key industries are complementary and can benefit each country, and that’s why opening markets will be important for both sides,” Maggi said through an interpreter during an interview with The Korea Times in Yeoksam-dong, southern Seoul, Wednesday.
Accompanied by other officials, he visited Korea as a part of an Asia trip to promote Brazil’s agricultural and livestock and offer business opportunities in his country. The other destinations included China, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
During his two-day stay from Tuesday, he met Lee Jun-won, Korea’s vice minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, to discuss sales of Brazilian pork, mangoes and beef.
The negotiation concerning pork and mangoes are in their final stages, and wrapping up all relevant procedures will be a pre-condition to begin discussions on beef imports, according to Maggi.
Brazil is the world’s second- and fourth-largest producer of beef and pork, respectively. But Korea has been refusing to open the markets, citing sanitary reasons.
Calling them “high-value products,” Maggi said meat should be among the Brazilian products that Korea should buy to increase bilateral trade volume, which has been declining after reaching a peak at $18.16 million in 2011.
“For instance, the meat producers in Brazil will see their income rise if Korea increases imports of Brazilian meat. And more income means they will have more purchasing power for cars, smartphones and televisions made in Korea.”
He said that it will be “worth betting” on the Brazilian market, citing that it has a large population with approximately 200 million people.
Concerning Brazil’s economic downturn and depreciation of its currency, Maggi said Korean investors can capitalize on the current situation as an opportunity to enter infrastructure and logistics projects there.
“Our discussion with Korean business people ranged from highways to railroads to electricity production,” he said. “The discussion included investment worth up to $200 million.”
Maggi claimed that the development projects will not pose a threat to the Amazon rainforest, which accounts for half of the Earth’s remaining rainforests. The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil.
Maggi, a soybean tycoon-turned official, was accused of deforesting large tracts of the rainforest when he was named agriculture minister this year.
“It’s true there were conflicts in the past when it came to development of agricultural lands and environmental protection but we then came up with tightened regulations to resolve the problem,” he said.
He said 61 percent of Brazilian territory is preserved as a forest under the law, while the other eight percent and 19.7 percent are used for farms and pastures, respectively.
The farm and ranch owners nationwide are also required to preserve an average of 11 percent of their land.
He said he views the agricultural industry as “a driving force for life” when asked about ways to encourage young Koreans to find jobs in the related sector.
“I’ve considered myself as a son of soil and have been enjoying work in the field. I hope young Koreans find working in the agricultural industry as meaningful as I do,” he said.