Chile, Brazil and Uruguay among the world’s leading exporters of wood chips
Wood chip exports from Latin America are on track to reach a record high of almost eight million tons in 2011, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. This would be an increase of 7% from last year and of almost 60% higher than in 2006. Chile is by far the biggest exporter, accounting for two-thirds of the total shipments from the continent, while Brazil and Uruguay both account for about 16% each. In 2011, Chile was the world’s second-largest supplier of hardwood chips after Vietnam. Latin America’s hardwood…
South American timber and wood products poised for growth
Global trade of wood products has gone up substantially the past two years. Hardwood chip export from Chile, Uruguay and Brail was up 43 percent in 2011 compared to 2009, as reported by the Wood Resource Quarterly. A clear majority of the increase was Eucalyptus chips destined for pulp mills in Japan and Europe. Wood chip exports from South America are on track to reach a record high of almost eight million tons in 2011, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. This would be an increase of seven percent from last…
Should you invest in Brazil?
I’ve just spent a very pleasant fortnight in Brazil. It’s a wonderful country. But should we be investing there? The first thing that struck me about Brazil its sheer abundance. It’s the fifth-biggest country in the world. It has 20% of the world’s freshwater supply and just 3% of its population. (China has over 20% of the world’s population and about 6% of its freshwater). It has the highest number of species of primates, amphibians and plants in the world and the most diverse…
HSBC has released a report predicting the rise and fall of the world’s economies in the next 40 years.
The global research department of HSBC has released a report predicting the rise and fall of the world’s economies in the next 40 years. The world’s top economy in 2050 will be China, followed by the United States. No surprises there – since China’s reforms in the 1980s, economists have said it’s not a question of if, but when, China’s collective economic might will top the U.S. #adp02 But among the smaller, developing nations, there are several surprises by HSBC prognosticators:But among the smaller,…
Brazil’s answer to destructive farming in Amazon
Never seen without his cowboy hat, Mauro Lucio listens to country music as he drives his pickup truck around Paragominas municipality in Brazil’s Amazonian cattle-raising state of Pará while recounting tales of a misspent youth on the rodeo circuit. But his droll nature belies his central role in a movement that could transform ranching in Brazil, the world’s largest beef exporter, and with it the global meat industry. He is proving that the Amazon can be one of the most productive areas in the world for…
Brazil to further limit foreign ownership of land
According to a Brazilian newspaper Brazil’s government is working on a new rule to further limit the purchase of farm land by foreigners, arguing that the current legislation has been “insufficient”. The new rule, which could come as a decree, aims to close loopholes that buyers have been using, such as purchasing land through Brazilian companies, Folha de S. Paulo newspaper said. It could also impose restrictions on investment funds joined by foreigners and force international banks to sell land…
Russian companies invest big in Brazil
Russian companies are making strong inroads into Brazil, a fellow top-league developing economy that has long lain out of its range of interest. Both countries are members of BRIC — a group that also includes such longtime Russian partners as China and India — which held a maiden summit of its leaders in 2009. “That BRIC forum was a powerful factor to make relations more dynamic” with Brazil, said Sergei Vasilyev, chairman of the Russian-Brazil Business Council. Russia – Brazil Ties Three…
The brakes put on Brazilian Land Prices
The brakes put on Brazilian Land Prices An update on rural land prices in Brazil from Stuart Donald The current lack of definition over the foreign land investment laws in Brazilin land has put the brakes on strong rises in the prices of rural land in 2011. In some regions prices for larger areas have stagnated and even dropped. One land agent believes prices have dropped from the previous year in the region of Ribeirão Preto by 16%, Cascavel by 14%, Pouso Alegre (MG) by 12% and in Luis Eduardo Magalhães…
Millions of foreigners moving into Brazil
Millions of foreigners have moved into Brazil attracted by the economic expansion of recent years, while the number of Brazilians leaving the country has dropped dramatically, according to official data released last week. Justice Secretary Paulo Abrao says there are 600.000 undocumented aliens Justice Secretary Paulo Abrao says there are 600.000 undocumented aliens The Ministry of Justice estimated that two million foreigners were residing in Brazil last June, of which 1.4 million legally and the rest, mostly…
Brazil to be among top destinations of foreign investment
Brazil will be one of the main destinations of foreign investment next year, a study released Wednesday by the country’s Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA) said. According to the International Perception of Brazil Monitor study, the indicator that measures the likelihood of Brazil receiving foreign investment rose from 35 points in May to 43 points in August. Seventy per cent of interviewees worldwide consider Brazil one of the top five destinations for foreign investment, up from 56 per cent…
Brazil’s dairy sector seeks a comeback
In 2008, Brazil looked well on its way to becoming a significant player on the world dairy market. Export volumes had more than doubled over a two-year stretch to 1.1 million tons. The country posted a record dairy trade surplus (more than 630,000 tons) when only six years earlier it had run a 1-million-ton deficit. The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy in its 2009 Globalization Report called out Brazil as one of a handful of emerging nations that could eventually become dairy export players and provide low-priced…
Unasur forecasts South America’s decade
A new global order is emerging as a result of the world crisis and recession in developed countries and Latin America has a crucial role to play given its very satisfactory economic performance in recent years, said Unasur Secretary General Maria Emma Mejia. Meeting in Madrid for the tenth anniversary of the Spanish foreign affairs think-tank Royal Institute Elcano, Ms Mejia together with other world experts and politicians were invited to discuss the international crisis, the emergence of new powers…
Investment funds around the world seeking farmland in response to food price hikes
For decades, the world was often swimming in surplus food because farmers were so productive. But rising demand has caught up, and reserves have become so tight that global food markets are vulnerable to even minor shocks. Many analysts say that higher, more volatile prices may be here to stay. The new dynamic reflects in part the rising demand for commodities in developing countries such as China, India and Russia. By 2050, the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization projects that world food production will…
Chinese largest agricultural firm to buy farmland in Latin America
China’s largest agricultural enterprise, Heilongjiang Beidahuang Nongken Group, will acquire or lease 200,000 hectares of cropland in countries including Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Russia, The Philippines, Australia and Zimbabwe China, the world’s most populous country with 1.34 billion citizens, is experiencing an agricultural deficit that has spurred the authorities to seek access to crops outside its territory. In fact, according to somewhat dated statistics, less than 11 percent of Chinese territory…
