Brazil, second to the United States in food and agricultural exports, “is poised to become the foremost supplier in meeting additional global demand, mostly originating from Asia,” says the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2015-2024. The report says Brazil, the fifth-most populous nation, will expand production through “continued improvements in productivity, some conversion of pasture to cropland, and more intensive livestock production.”
In a special chapter, the report says, “Brazil has become the second largest exporter of agricultural and agro-food products in the world behind the United States rising from fourth place in 2000” with exports worth $89.5 billion in 2013, six times larger than its tally in 2000. By comparison, the USDA says U.S. farm exports in fiscal 2013 were worth $141 billion. Brazil often tops the United States as the world’s largest soybean exporter and is a leading producer of corn and rice.
The “generally sluggish recovery of the global economy” will constrain demand for food in coming years, says the report, but “prices are projected to remain at a higher level than in the years preceding the 2007-08 price spike.”
“Exports of agricultural commodities are projected to become concentrated in fewer countries, while imports become more dispersed over a large number of countries,” says the report. “The importance of relatively few countries in suppyling global markets for some key commodities increases market risks, including those associated with natural disasters or the adoption of disruptive trade measures. Overall, trade is expected to grow more slowly than in the previous decade but maintaining a stable share relative to global production and consumption.”