The country also accounts for 50% of the global soy market and became the second largest corn exporter in 2020. Brazil has the largest bovine herd in the world and is the biggest exporter of such meat. It has also become the consolidated leader in coffee and sugar production. A study elaborated by Embrapa's Secretariat of Intelligence and Strategic Relations (Sire) about Brazil's exports in the last two decades has revealed that the country gained important positions in the international market, both in terms of agricultural production and of exports. Entitled O agro no Brasil e no Mundo: uma síntese do período de 2000 a 2020 [Agriculture in Brazil and in the World: a synthesis of the 2000-2020 period], the study pointed that the country is the world's fourth largest producer of grains (rice, barley, soybeans, corn and wheat) behind the United States, China and India, with 7.8% of the global production. In 2020, it produced 239 million tons and exported 123 million tons of grains. The data were obtained from the FAOSTAT platform, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for the period 2000-2020, with an emphasis on the last year. The authors of the study are physicist and Data Science analyst Adalberto Aragão and researcher Elísio Contini. In addition to being the world's fourth largest grain producer, Brazil is also the second-largest grain exporter in the world, with 19% of the international market. In the last 20 years, exports reached more than 1.1 billion tons, which represented 12.6% of worldwide exports. “The data show the evolution and standing of Brazilian agricultural production and international trade. Soybeans, corn, cotton and meat are the most dynamic products due to the growing foreign demand. The perspective is that they should continue in the coming years. Population growth and rising income in the world are the driving forces of world demand, especially in Asia, and more specifically China and, in the near future, India”, Contini states. Brazilian exports totalled US$ 37 billion in 2020 alone and US$ 419 billion between 2000 and 2020. "The purpose of the study is to present the Brazilian performance in grain, meat, fruit and forestry production and exports in the last two decades. We worked with a time frame from 2000 to 2020, using data from the FAOSTAT system and making mathematical estimates for the 2020 results,” Adalberto Aragão explains. Brazil leads soybean production and exports From 2000 to 2020, the country was the second largest soybean producer and exporter. Since last year, it took the first place, as it produced 126 million tons and exported 84 million. Brazil now accounts for 50% of the global soybean trade. Brazilian grain exports totalled US$ 30 billion in 2020 and US$ 346 billion in the last two decades. On the other hand, rice production remains a challenge, as output has remained practically the same, without significant increases since 2000. China and India continue to be the world's largest rice producers. Brazil ranks ninth place, but its production is aimed at the domestic market. Only 2% were exported in 2020. In 2020, the country took the third place in the world's corn production, with 100 million tons (8.2% of the total), topped only by the United States and China. In the past few decades, Brazil's relative position did not change with regard to the production of the cereal, but it grew in terms of exports. In 2020, the country took the third place in the world's corn production, with 100 million tons (8.2% of the total), topped only by the United States and China. In the past few decades, Brazil's relative position did not change with regard to the production of the cereal, but it grew in terms of exports. Beans and cotton Brazil is the fourth largest producer of beans in the world, but it is not among the largest exporters; most of the production is destined to domestic consumption. China, India and Myanmar were the largest bean producers in the world, responsible for more than 60% of 2020's output. “Products like rice and beans, which have historically met domestic demand in Brazil, have shown stagnant production. Their growth basically depends on the evolution of the Brazilian population, which today has low growth rates. Additionally, while they are staple products for the Brazilian population, they have lower demand as income grows. A trend towards exporting rice to a few countries with production deficit started last year. But the world's top rice producers also protect the market, including with subsidies, which also impacts our production and exports”, Elísio Contini explains. With regard to cotton, the study demonstrated that although the country takes the fifth position in its production, the analysis of the Brazilian performance in last the 20 years shows an increase both in production and exports. In 2020, Brazil was the fourth largest cotton producer and second top exporter, after only the United States. Brazil has the largest bovine herd in the world In 2020, Brazil had the largest bovine herd in the world, representing 14.3% of the global herd, with 217 million head, followed by India, with 190 million head. In spite of being the world's largest bovine breeder, when poultry and swine production is added, Brazil becomes the world's third in the international market for livestock, with a production in 2020 that corresponds to 9.2%, or 29 million tons, behind China and the United States. But in terms of exported meats (beef, pork and poultry meat), in 2020, Brazil came second, with 7.4 million tons or 13.4% of the world's total. Between 2000 and 2020, Brazilian meat exports totalled US$ 265 billion. However, circling back to beef, in 2020 the country was the world's top exporter, with 2.2 million tons and 14.4% of the international market. It is followed by Australia, the United States, and India. “Upon considering the bovine herd separately, the study observed that the country, in 2020, started to be what also possesss the biggest flock of the world and the exporting greater”, explained Contini. Broiler chicken production Chicken meat is considered an important food for domestic consumption and for exports. Brazil has the fourth largest flock of gallinaceous birds of the world, with 5.6% of the total in 2020, or 1.5 billion head. The other three largest flocks: China (19.2%), Indonesia (14.7%) and United States (7.5%). Despite the United States' having the third largest flock of gallinaceous birds, when broiler chicken production is considered, in 2020 they led with 16.7%, followed by Brazil with 11.8% (14 million tons), and China, with 11.7% of the world's production. In 2020, Brazil became the top exporter of poultry meat with 4.3 million tons (20.9%) and the United States took the second place with 18.2% of the total exported volume. In 2020, Brazilian poultry meat exports yielded US$ 6.6 billion. In comparison with the last 20 years, United States and Brazil lost market shares. The Netherlands, Thailand and Poland took on more importance. Pork With regard to swines, in 2020 Brazil reached the world's third place in production, with 41 million head, that is, 4.4% of the total. The top ones are China, with 41.1% of the world's drift, followed by the United States (8.4%). “China has managed to overcome African Swine Fever and lead swine production in the world, but consumption mostly targets the domestic market”, the researcher Elísio Contini explains. With regard to pork exports, in 2020 Germany and the United States led with a share of over 15% of the total each. Brazil took 7th place in 2020 and 8th in the last two decades, with participation below 5%. Terceiro produtor de frutas In 2020, Brazil was the third largest fruit producer of the world, having produced 58 million tons of fruit, or 5.4% of the world's total. The first top producers were China, with 28.1%, followed by India, with 11.5%, both with growths in their world share. “However, when we analyze the time frame from 2000 to 2020, we can observe that Brazil has been losing shares in the world market of fruit producers and has remained the 11th exporter in the same period”, the authors of the study assess. “The dynamics of Brazilian Agribusiness target exports. In the case of fruit exports, Brazil has been evolving, but with little dynamism in comparison with the international trade potential. Fresh fruit for the rich Northern Hemisphere are business opportunities that are worth billions but are not suitably explored by the country. On top of that there is the impact on healthy nutrition for global consumers”, assesses Elísio Contini, one of the authors of the news article “Exportar dietas saudáveis” [Exporting healthy diets], which addresses the subject.. The countries that exported more fruits are Spain, Ecuador, United States, China, Costa Rica, Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Philippines, and South Africa. Although Chile is not among the top exporters, it is in the ranking of countries that generated the most revenue with fruit exports, which demonstrates the high added value of the Chilean product. Brazil exported 3 billion dollar of fruits in 2020 and 60 billion between 2000 and 2020. Largest coffee and sugar producer The Brazilian participation in the world production has grown from previous years. In fact, Brazil was the world's top producer of sugar, with 1/3 of the world production, followed by India with 17%. As for coffee production (beans), in 2020, Brazil led with 30.3% of the total, or 3.1 million tons. It has maintained its relative share in the last few years. Vietnam came in second place, with 16.9% and growth in comparison with the last two decades. Colombia slightly increased its share in production. Brazil was responsible for over a quarter (25.5%) of the world's coffee exports, having traded 2 million tons, followed by Vietnam with 20.2% and Colombia with 10.7%. The same phenomenon was observed with sugar, as Brazil was the world's top producer of sugar, with 1/3 of the world production, followed by India with 17%. And the country consolidated its position as top exporter with 22 million tons last year, the equivalent to 30% of the world's exports. Access the full study