Fuel prices, labour laws and bad weather made this one of the worst years in memory for transporting Brazil's export crops to market. But there are also serious long-term problems. Brazil has long been known for being long on agricultural potential but pitifully short on infrastructure and logistics. Inadequate roads, kilometers long traffic jams of trucks carrying corn or soy to port have long been a way of life.
America's market share has fallen but North and South America's collective market position is stronger than ever. The last twenty-five years have seen United States' one-time feed crop export monopoly transform into a Pan American market dominance.
