November 22, 2022

 

Corn transport delayed in Brazil's Mato Grosso due to demonstrations

Protests against the electoral defeat of Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro by truckers and other demonstrators are delaying corn shipments in Mato Grasso, Brazil's key farming state, Today Online reported.

 

The Mato Grosso highway police reported 11 protests, with four federal highways close to farms and facilities for the processing of grains experiencing complete or partial road closures.

 

The governor of Mato Grosso was given permission by Brazil's top public prosecutor to organise police and clear protesters from the highways.

 

The amount of corn unable to be transported from farmers to ports and storage facilities due to the protests was unknown. A January soy harvest necessitates the emptying of warehouses, so the slowdown could have a ripple effect.

 

Evandro Lermen, a farmer from Mato Grasso, said it is a race against the clock, as they need to clean the corn storage facilities to begin collecting soybeans.

 

Lermen said the blockades are also delaying the delivery of agricultural inputs required for the planting of Brazil's second corn crop early the following year.

 

Despite his support for the protesters' cause, farmer Cayron Giacomelli said that the blockades had prevented him from moving his corn and that he would not be paid until he delivered it.

 

Giacomelli declared he fully supports the protesters, but farmers are suffering.

 

Following the election victory on October 30 by the leftist candidate for president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, truckers and other Bolsonaro supporters began to demonstrate. The new president of Brazil begins serving on January 1.

 

Bolsonaro's supporters among Brazilian farmers have been significant, but not all of them support the ongoing protests.

 

Major commodity businesses like Cargill, Bunge, and Cofco have operations in Mato Grosso.

 

A port agent and an association that represents businesses that operate at Paranaguas said the flow of goods was not significantly hampered. In the states of Santa Catarina, Para, and Rondonia, authorities are also attempting to stop protests.

 

In Mato Grosso, farmer Endrigo Dalcin said there isn't much corn or soybean crop left to move, but if protests continue, it might be difficult to store the crop.

 

-      Today Online