Acai berry producers are concerned as Trump imposes tariffs on Brazil's exports
After all, who was going to eat all of that Amazon berry, globally famous as a delicious, refreshing and nutritious superfood, if American consumers suddenly could no longer afford it?
As the main importer of the Brazilian berry, prices of acai smoothies and bowls look certain to go up in the United States.
'The acai that's all produced here... If only people here eat it, it's going to be a lot of acai, right?' Moreira told The Associated Press outside of Belem, an Amazon city of 1.4 million residents that will host this year's UN climate summit COP30 climate summit in November. 'If there's too much acai here, people won't be able to eat it all and the price will drop.'
A single full crate of acai sells for around $50 at local markets in Brazil, a price that is now expected to plummet. The US is by far the largest acai importer of a total Brazilian output currently estimated at about 70,000 tons per year.
Impact already being felt
The most vulnerable acai producers in the northern state of Para say they have already been hit by tariffs imposed by the US government, as a surplus of the berry without a clear destination starts to mount only days after the new economic scenario unfolded.
More powerful exporters, such as Sao Paulo-state based company Acai Tropicalia Mix, are also feeling the impact.
One of its owners, Rogério de Carvalho, told the AP that last year he exported to the US about 270 tons of acai cream — an industrialized version of the berry — ready for consumption.
As tariffs started to loom, he said, American importers steered away and clients suspended negotiations. Until the end of July, de Carvalho estimates that his company sold 27 tons to the US. 'That's 1.5 million Brazilian reais ($280,000) that we lost,' the businessman said.
'We are confident there will be a deal between the two countries to allow not only our clients to return, but also getting some new ones.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
18 minutes ago
- Mint
Wall Street week ahead: Investors eye inflation, retail sales, Trump-Putin meet
Wall Street in the week ahead will see key economic data and a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In economic calendar, market participants will closely watch the two inflation reports – the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index, and retail sales data. The investors and Federal Reserve policymakers will keep a close eye on the economic data for any effects of Trump's tariffs on inflation. Friday will see the scheduled meeting between Trump and Putin. Earlier, the US president had expressed hope that a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine could be near. It could involve "some swapping of territories" between the two warring nations. On August 12 (Tuesday), separate reports on NFIB optimism index for July and Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July will be released. On August 14 (Thursday), separate reports on initial jobless claims for the week ended August 9 and Producer Price Index (PPI) for July will be released. On August 15 (Friday), separate reports on US retail sales for July, Empire State manufacturing survey for August, Import Price Index for July, industrial production for July, and consumer sentiment (prelim) for August will be released. Following companies are due to report second quarter results in the week ahead — AMC Entertainment, Barrick Mining, Oklo, Plug Power, CoreWeave, eToro, Paysafe, Cisco, Alvotech, Alibaba, Applied Materials, Flowers Foods, and So-Young International. US stocks closed higher on Friday with the Nasdaq hitting a record closing high as technology-related shares, including Apple, surged. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 206.97 points, or 0.47%, to 44,175.61, the S&P 500 gained 49.45 points, or 0.78%, to 6,389.45 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 207.32 points, or 0.98%, to 21,450.02. For the week, the S&P 500 rose 2.4%, the Dow gained 1.3% and the Nasdaq climbed 3.9%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.28% from 4.25%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury rose to 3.76% from 3.73%.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
20 minutes ago
- Business Standard
China urges US to ease AI chip export controls for trade deal: Report
China wants the United States to ease export controls on chips critical for artificial intelligence as part of a trade deal before a possible summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Chinese officials have told experts in Washington that Beijing wants the Trump administration to relax export restrictions on high-bandwidth memory chips, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. The White House, State Department and China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report. HBM chips, which help perform data-intensive AI tasks quickly, are closely watched by investors due to their use alongside AI graphic processors, particularly Nvidia's. The FT said China is concerned because the U.S. HBM controls hamper the ability of Chinese companies such as Huawei to develop their own AI chips. Successive U.S. administrations have curbed exports of advanced chips to China, looking to stymie Beijing's AI and defence development. While this has impacted U.S. firms' ability to fully address booming demand from China, one of the world's largest semiconductor markets, it still remains an important revenue driver for American chipmakers.
Mint
20 minutes ago
- Mint
Netanyahu Defends Gaza Plan Condemned at Home and Abroad
(Bloomberg) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his plan for a military sweep against the final Hamas strongholds in Gaza, calling it the best available option for recovering hostages while safeguarding his country's long-term security — an argument that's met vocal opposition at home and abroad. After talks on a third ceasefire stalled in July, the Netanyahu government on Friday authorized an advance on Gaza City. Israeli forces had previously skirted the area for fear that hostages believed to be held there could be hurt or lost in the chaos of combat. Though the army has yet to mobilize the reinforcements required to roll into action, the plan has drawn condemnation from foreign powers already upset at a hunger crisis besetting Palestinians in Gaza, after Israel cut off aid between March and May in a bid to sideline Hamas. The US, by contrast, has indicated readiness to back its Middle Eastern ally. There's also been recrimination in Israel, where polls for months have shown a majority prefer a negotiated deal to recover all hostages, even if it means winding down the war with Hamas still standing. Relatives of the hostages are calling for a general strike to protest the latest plans. At the other end of the political spectrum, far-right coalition parties are grumbling that the proposal, which Netanyahu says will defeat Hamas once and for all, doesn't go far enough. 'Our goal is not to occupy Gaza. Our goal is to free Gaza — free it from Hamas terrorists,' Netanyahu told foreign reporters at a briefing on Sunday. 'Contrary to false claims, this is the best way to end the war.' In previous statements during the 22-month-old conflict, Netanyahu suggested victory was imminent. He struck a more cautious note on Sunday, declining to give a detailed timeline for advances on Gaza City and, later, on central townships that have also largely been spared incursions. The operations would be 'fairly quick' and prevent Israel getting into a war of attrition with Hamas holdouts, he said. Twenty of the hostages, mostly taken during the Hamas incursions into Israel in October 2023, are believed to be still alive. Hamas has threatened to execute them rather than see them rescued. Their relatives also worry about the risk they could be killed in crossfire once new assaults ramp up. 'The move that I'm talking about, I think, has a possibility of getting them out,' Netanyahu said. Doubling down on his rejection of allegations that Israel has been deliberately starving Gazans, Netanyahu said the 'exact opposite' was true. While acknowledging 'deprivation' in parts of the coastal enclave, he said aid is now reaching its 2 million civilian residents. In contrast, the UN's World Food Program says a quarter of Gazans are on the brink of famine. Hamas authorities say the daily number of trucks entering in the past two weeks, since restrictions on aid deliveries were relaxed by Israel, has averaged 100, far below the 600 the group demands. Still, black market food prices, a measure of scarcity, are dropping. Sugar, at $8.76 a kilo ($3.97 per pound) is about 10 times cheaper than a few days ago. A kilogram of flour costs $3.50 to $4.38, a recent steep decline although still far above the pre-war price of $0.88. Several Western countries, lamenting the protracted conflict, have pledged to recognize a Palestinian state. Germany, historically Israel's most important European ally, intends to stop supplying the Netanyahu government with arms for use in Gaza. Netanyahu said his German counterpart, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, had 'buckled under the pressure' of what he called false media reports and pro-Palestinian groups. 'We will win the war with or without the support of others,' he said. Most Israelis don't want any remnant of Hamas in Gaza nor a Palestinian state to arise there or in the West Bank, Netanyahu said. Hamas, which is committed to the Jewish state's destruction and blacklisted as a terrorist group in much of the West, has sounded undeterred by Netanyahu's plan. 'The weapons of resistance are a legitimate right as long as the occupation remains,' Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al-Araby TV, reiterating the group's refusal to disarm as demanded by Israel for an open-ended truce. 'The resistance will continue until the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state.' --With assistance from Alisa Odenheimer, Ethan Bronner, Fares Akram and Fadwa Hodali. (Updates with more comments from Netanyahu, other details throughout.) More stories like this are available on
