Brazil’s Agricultural Subsidies

Brazilië wordt beschouwd als een ontwikkelingsland, maar is uitgegroeid tot een economische macht als een belangrijke exporteur en agro-food is nu goed voor 28 procent van het BBP. Brazil’s Ambassador to the WTO, Roberto Azevedo, is one of two candidates to become Director General of the WTO. The Brazilian government’s recent notification to the WTO of agricultural subsidies for the 2009/10 crop year has raised issues about Brazil’s positions on trade-distorting domestic support policies.

De totale steun aan landbouwbedrijven door de Braziliaanse regering zoals gedefinieerd door de WTO werd gewaardeerd op $10.0 billion for 2009/10. Almost half of that, $4.91 miljard, was in the ‘green box’ considered to be minimally trade distorting and not subject to limits. The largest category was domestic food aid at $1.72 miljard. That is typical of many countries, inclusief de VS. Government holding of food stocks for food security purposes was reported at $653 miljoen. This included $386 million ‘for acquisition of agricultural products from family farming’. There is a proposal at the WTO to greatly expand this category for developing countries. Other major categories in the green box were extension and advisory services at $800 miljoen, infrastructure at $622 miljoen, agrarian reform at $430 million and research at $285 miljoen.

As a developing country, Brazil can have some development programs under ‘special and differential treatment’ that are also exempt from limits. These programs totaled $1.65 miljard, most of which was for investment in improving rural structure, acquiring equipment and machinery and animal services at $1.44 miljard. Other programs included production credit for low-income or resource-poor farmers, debt rescheduling and input subsidies.

Brazil had $3.48 billion of Aggregate Measures of Support (AMS) in 2009/10 in domestic support that was classified in the ‘amber box’ as trade-distorting subsidies that must be limited and reduced over time. Non-product specific AMS totaled $2.53 miljard. Debt rescheduling programs accounted for $1.53 billion of the total AMS and production and marketing credit was another $822 million in AMS. The remaining $176 million was for direct outlays for a risk minimizing agribusiness program. Non-product specific support is considered ‘de minimis’ for developing countries if it is less than 10 percent of the total value of production. Non-specific product support was only 2.47 procent van de totale waarde van de productie van $102 miljard.

De overgebleven amberkleurige doos AMS zat erin $950 million of product-specific domestic support. Corn had the highest AMS at $293 miljoen, gevolgd door katoen bij $269 miljoen, koffie $137 miljoen, rijst- $126 miljoen, tarwe $75 miljoen, suikerstok $24 miljoen en eetbare bonen $23 miljoen. Developing countries are allowed product-specific AMS up to 10 percent of the value of production of the product before the AMS is considered beyond the de minimis and reportable to the WTO. Cotton was the only crop beyond the limit at 11.5 procent van de waarde van de productie en de AMS-waarde van $269 miljoen was de enige AMS die onder het amberkleurige AMS-plafond van $912 million for trade-distorting domestic support. Sugar’s AMS of $24 miljoen voor een egalisatieprogramma van de productiekosten, is een onbeduidend 0.15 procent van een oogstwaarde op $16.0 miljard.

Brazilië rapporteert een lage totale AMS voor 2009/10 was no great surprise because market prices have been relatively high since 2008. Those high prices reduce payments for crops with minimum price guarantees and the high value of the crop makes payments low as a percent of total value. Ook, Brazilië heeft de 10 percentage waarde de minimis-trigger vergeleken met een 5 procentuele limiet voor ontwikkelde landen.

Volgens rapporten van de U.S. Agricultural Attaches in Brazilië, there are three main ongoing payment programs. The Subsidy Auction Program (FUT) is vergelijkbaar met de VS.. betalingsprogramma voor tekorten aan leningen. The government pays the difference between the prevailing market price and the minimum price of the product. Payments were made for edible beans, maïs en tarwe erin 2009/10.

De egalisatiepremie die aan de producent wordt betaald (PEPRO) is een premie die wordt toegekend aan de boer of coöperatie die zijn producten op openbare veilingen verkoopt, where the government pays the difference between the reference value established by the government and the value of the premium. All the cotton payments in 2009/10, $269 miljoen, were made under this program. Corn payments under the program were $38 miljoen.

De risicopremie voor privéoptie (PROP) is een prijsondersteuningsprogramma beheerd door CONAB, gelijk aan de Commodity Credit Corporation van USDA, which is linked to the Ministry of Agriculture. It represents the maximum amount that CONAB will pay to cooperatives and processors in order to guarantee a certain price to producers, which is above the market price. Over 15 procent van de sojabonen geproduceerd in 2006 en 2007 waar betrokken bij een van de programma's, maar sojabonenproducenten hebben sindsdien geen betalingen ontvangen.

Terwijl directe overheidsbetalingen, behalve katoen, waren relatief klein of niet-bestaand in 2009/10 en sinds toen, that does not mean that farmers are just relying on market conditions. Brazil has had a continuing problem of farmers with heavy debt loads from past years of borrowing to rapidly expand production and low incomes due to weather conditions. Low-cost government lending and debt rescheduling shown with an AMS of $1.53 miljard in 2009/10 van invloed op elk gewas, including sugar and soybeans. The Brazilian government of President Dilma Rouseff is expected to announce later this month a government credit program for 2013/14 met gesubsidieerde rentetarieven van 2.5 procent, naar beneden 5.5 procent dit jaar, and larger than this year’s program of $58 miljard.

De 2009/10 totale AMS onderworpen aan het amber box-plafond voor Brazilië is geen goede indicatie van wat de AMS in de toekomst zou kunnen zijn, net als de VS.. or any other country that has relatively low price and income guarantees at a time of high market prices. Lower prices will occur, en de Braziliaanse regering kwam binnen 2006 en 2007 that they have the programs in place to buffer the adjustments that need to occur. Brazil could very quickly develop AMS limit problems.

Ross Korves is een handels- en economische politiek analist bij Truth About Trade & Technologie (www.truthabouttrade.org). Volg ons: @TruthAboutTrade op Twitter | Waarheid over Handel & Technologie op Facebook.