The Food Industry in Brazil
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THE FOOD INDUSTRY IN BRAZIL FLANDERS INVESTMENT & TRADE MARKET SURVEY THE FOOD INDUSTRY IN BRAZIL A key for the Brazilian economy December 2016 Yves Lapere, Economic & Commercial Attaché FIT- Flanders Investment & Trade Embaixada da Bélgica Rua Maria Figueiredo, 595 cj 82 - Paraíso 04002-003 São Paulo - SP Brazil Transport Infrastructure, Transportation and Logistics in Romania | december 2016 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................ 3 2. General information on the economic situation of Brazil ............................................................................ 4 Economic growth in Brazil in the last decade ....................................................................................................... 4 Economic Forecast Brazil .................................................................................................................................................... 5 3. General information food industry Brazil ................................................................................................................ 5 Importance of the food industry for Brazil ............................................................................................................ 5 Production of crops and livestock in Brazil ............................................................................................................ 6 The trade balance of the food industry .................................................................................................................... 7 Trends in the Brazilian food industry ......................................................................................................................... 8 4. Focus sectors .............................................................................................................................................................................. 8 Beef ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Poultry .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Pork ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 11 Milk and Dairy........................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Beverages .................................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Non-alcoholic beverages .............................................................................................................................. 14 Coffee ....................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Field crops .................................................................................................................................................................................. 18 Wheat ....................................................................................................................................................................... 18 Corn ........................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Soybeans ................................................................................................................................................................. 21 Soybean oils ........................................................................................................................................................ 23 Sugarcane ............................................................................................................................................................. 23 5. Evaluation of the food industry in Brazil .............................................................................................................. 25 2 1. Introduction In this report we aim to give a general sketch of the food industry in Brazil. Both the domestic market and the export market will be discussed. Several facts about the Brazilian food industry are already general knowledge while other elements are still unknown. This analysis has as a goal to fill this gap of knowledge and to give a cohesive overview of the food industry in Brazil. Besides a general overview, several sectors will be studied in more detail: beef, pork, poultry, milk and dairy, beverages (soda and coffee) and field crops. The Brazilian economy has evolved dramatically over the past years. First, it was one of the new rising stars in the world economy and member of the BRIC countries and now it is considered one of the ill kids. This message is overly colored and does not stroke with the reality but it should be noted that the Brazilian economy went through some heavy storms. Figure 1 shows the evolution of the Brazilian Real against the Euro. It can be seen that from a relatively strong currency the Brazilian Real devaluated heavily against the Euro in 2014-2015. It seems that this trend is reverting for 2016. This is a good first impression of the turmoil of the Brazilian economy. Thus, in this report we want to spread a nuanced message about the performance of the Brazilian economy in general and more in detail of the food industry. Moreover, the importance of the food industry cannot be underestimated for the Brazilian economy as we will elaborate further on in this study. It should not be forgotten that the food industries are a diverse sector which incorporates agriculture, packaging and the preparation of food. The food industry can also be seen as a part of the agribusiness which is a key driver for economic growth in Brazil. Therefore, it is highly relevant and important to study the food industry in Brazil. Moreover, by gaining knowledge on the ins and outs of the food industry, this report can help companies to discover business opportunities in this growing and rapidly market. Figure 1: Evolution of the Euro against the Brazilian Real1 1 Information available at https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/eurofxref-graph-brl.en.html The food industry in Brazil | December 2016 3 2. General information on the economic situation of Brazil Economic growth in Brazil in the last decade Figure 2: Growth rate of the gross domestic product of Brazil (1990-2014) In the last decade the Brazilian economy has been growing significantly (figure 2). Increased capital flows, macroeconomic stability (e.g. stable inflation) and increased demand for some of its important export products (e.g. soybeans and raw sugar) created important impulses for economic growth in Brazil2. As a result of economic growth and policies from the government, poverty reduced significantly in Brazil in the last decade. For example, between 2003 and 2014, 29 million people were able to leave poverty3. Moreover, the middle class has become the dominant group in Brazilian society while in the past this was the lower class. However, it should be noted that there is strong difference in wealth between members of the middle class (e.g. upper class >5310 BRL4 middle class 1232 BRL < X > 5310 BRL and the lower class < 1232 BRL5). Hence, certain people from the middle class can with another classification still be considered poor. However, since the start of the recession in 2014 this trend has reverted and the lower class started to grow again6. This increasing middle class had important positive effects on the demand in the domestic market. Thus, the reduction in poverty was an important factor that contributed to the economic growth of Brazil as it strengthened the internal market. This was especially beneficial for the food industry7. It should be acknowledged that the increase in domestic demand was also boosted by low interest rates and consequently was partially credit fueled.8 2 Information available at https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/other/eb201601_focus01.en.pdf 3 Information available at http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/brazil/overview 4 Brazilian Real 5 Data are in terms of market prices of 2010 6 Information retrieved from ABIA - Associação Brasileira das Indústrias da Alimentação 7 Information available at http://dc.itamaraty.gov.br/imagens-e-textos/Industry05-TheFoodIndustry.pdf 8 Information available at http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/brazil/overview 4 Since 2011 prices for important export commodities have dropped. As a result, the growth rate of the GDP slowed down. Moreover, structural problems of the Brazilian economy that were not addressed in the past, surfaced. For example, lack of competition on the Brazilian market, a complicated tax system and a deficient infrastructure (mainly logistics). In addition to this, confidence of the financial markets decreased in emerging markets with high external imbalances such as Brazil. In a reaction, the Brazilian