Anuário Brasileiro do Arroz 2011 - Unemat

24
Intimate enemy
Brazil needs to surmount its own obstacles to
improve its competitive edge and export more
If it is a matter of attracting loyal
clients and earning a reputation as a reliable
supplier of rice in the international
market, Brazil will have to conquer its
own internal barriers and become effectively
competitive. After acting as
exporter for seven years, the Country is
still viewed as an opportunistic supplier,
taking advantage of circumstances induced
by exchange rate fluctuations,
international crises, crop frustrations in
producing countries and support mecha-
nisms, among other factors, to mark its
presence abroad.
Quality and exportable volumes do
exist. The problem is the price. In the
2010/2011 cycle the Country is operating
with one of the highest market prices
among the exporting countries, by virtue
of the unfavorable exchange rate policy,
high production cost, poor logistics and
high taxation. “The highly valued real
raises the price of our rice in the international
marketplace, although at home
it is still lagging behind the minimum
price”, says Tiago Sarmento Barata, analyst
with Agrotendencias Consultoria em
Agronegócios.
According to him, because of the exchange
rate, a 50-kilo sack of rice in the
husk, quoted a minimum price of R$
25,80, is equivalent to US$ 15,83 (exchange
rate: US$ 1 = R$ 1.63 in early
April), while average quotes in the international
market range from US$ 10.00
to US$ 13.00. Production costs also press
down competitiveness. According to the
Rio Grande do Sul Rice Institute (Irga),
the cost for producing a 50-kilo sack of
rice in the husk reached R$ 29.13 in the
2010/2011 crop in Rio Grande do Sul,
equivalent to US$ 17.87, considering the
same exchange rate, it is an unrealistic
price in the international scenario.
In the meantime, the cereal from
Uruguay was exported for less than US$
12.00 over the period, and yielded profits
for the producers. Relying on incentives
and lower taxation rates, in that country
Inor Ag. Assmann
average production prices range from US$
9.00 to US$ 11.00, and the same goes for
Argentina. In Barata’s view, the incidence of
taxes, like the ICMS (state value-added tax)
and the Tax for Social Security Financing
(PIS/Cofins), levied on the inputs and then
on the cereal, is a major factor in the high
national cost. What also counts is high
transportation costs, fees and other port
costs. “The sum of these factors has an impact
on competitiveness”, he states.
Alexandre Selk, a partner at Risoy
Corretora, in Pelotas (RS), understands
that Brazil tends to become a
frequent and relevant supplier in global
terms. “In spite of the difficulties
imposed by the exchange rate and the
little attractive relationship between
the prices at home and abroad, we
managed to export 627 thousand tons
of rice in the husk in 2010/11”, he
observes.
But Selk understands that there are
difficulties to be surmounted, as the
Brazilian export-oriented efforts have
only been occurring in light of atypical
situations in the international scenario,
or through commercialization support
mechanisms. “We have a consolidated
market for exporting broken rice, which
is expected to soar. Brazil also exports
parboiled rice, and is very competitive
and quality-oriented in that score”, he
explains. This is not the case of white
rice, although 40 thousand tons were
recently exported to Cuba (equivalent to
TAXES,
LOGISTICS
AND COSTS
IMPAIR SALES
58.8 thousand tons in the husk).
The vice-president of the Brazilian
Commodities Exchange (BBM), region of
Rio Grande do Sul, Jair Almeida da Silva,
maintains that, in spite of the difficulties,
and thanks to the trading companies,
this production chain is learning
how to export, finding ways, conquering
clients and investing a lot in order to
keep the doors open in the international
scenario, with operations in containers,
small quantities, distinctive standards
and varieties, as a manner to show the
quality of the products. “Now, the world
views Brazil as a supplier of huge potential.
As a matter of fact, the world
is waiting for us to surmount our own
barriers in order to expand our share in
the market”, he acknowledges. Brazil’s
potential clients are the Middle East,
Africa, the Caribbean, South and Central
America and Europe.
The national challenge to expand its
presence abroad as a supplier, requires
the implementation of measures that
tackle the structures, and not just emergency
commercialization measures. “The
market looks for regular and stable suppliers,
with a capacity to compete with
the other countries. This is the condition
Brazil needs to conquer”, says Tiago
Sarmento Barata, of Agrotendências.
Meanwhile, shipments depend on opportunities
and on some niches where
our national product is supposed to be
competitive.