Brazil to scrap import taxes on 'essential' items, including coffee
Brazil's government has decided to eliminate import taxes on food and beverage products considered essential to reduce prices.
The list of products includes coffee, olive oil, sugar, corn, sunflower oil, sardines, cookies, pasta and meat.
The announcement was made by the country's vice president Geraldo Alckmin, also minister for industry and trade, after a meeting led by President Lula with the ministers of agriculture, agrarian development, finance and other government departments.
Alckmin said: 'These are measures to reduce prices, to benefit citizens so that they can maintain their purchasing power and have their basic food basket at a better price.
'This also ends up stimulating the production and commerce sectors. All of these are initiatives, from the regulatory measures to the tax ones, in which the government is failing to collect revenue, giving up taxes to favour price reductions.'
The import tax rates Brazil charges on the food items vary between 7.2% (corn), 9% (coffee) and 32% (sardines).
The move also includes raising the import quota for palm oil from 60,000 to 150,000 metric tons.
The Brazilian government is also looking to make changes to its inspection rules. The move would extend of the jurisdiction of Brazil's Municipal Inspection Service to a national level.
The SIM (Serviço de Inspeção Municipal) is a regional food safety inspection and regulatory body, which inspects and regulates animal products.
Items processed under SIM standards are only allowed to be sold within the borders of a city or a town. Under the plans, its remit will be expanded to the national level and enable products already been certified at a local level to be sold nationwide. The measure includes items such as liquid milk, honey and eggs.
Minister Carlos Fávaro, Brazil's minister of agriculture and livestock, said the changes would provide more opportunities for the country's farmers.
He said: 'For one year, we will apply the effects of the SIM to the entire Brazilian territory. To those products that are cleared of being at risk of potential health problems – without any loss in food quality (…)'.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian government is also looking to boost the domestic production of basic food items. According to a government statement, the National Supply Company (Conab) will invest in the formation of 'regulatory stocks'.
Paulo Teixeira, minister of agrarian development and family agriculture, said: 'We will have a set of products that will be subsidised to offer to Brazilian society, focusing on the basic food basket.'
"Brazil to scrap import taxes on 'essential' items, including coffee" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand.
The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Insane amount Aussies could pay for coffee
Coffee may need to reach $12 a cup for Australia to compete with other countries for the sacred beans. Benchmark prices hit an all-time high in April, and industry insiders say Chinese demand for beans is squeezing prices in Australia. '(The) Chinese have very much converted from tea to coffee,' Essential Coffee chief executive Todd Hiscock told the ABC. 'They're buying up unprecedented levels of coffee supplies, often they're taking a whole Brazilian stock load in ways that's never been seen before.' Median prices per cup needed to increase to between $8 to $12, he said. 'We've got to come to the party and pay in a competitive global market,' Hiscock said. Brazil produces more than one-third of the world's coffee beans. The country battled through a drought in 2024 that was capped off with a cold snap. Combined, this slashed the overall harvests. As investors turn away from the volatile US, the Brazilian real has also climbed, disincentivising exports out of Brazil. Vietnam is the second-largest coffee producer. The El Nino weather pattern plunged Vietnam's coffee-growing regions into drought for the past two years, damaging the plants so badly that many will not fully recover for another two years. These international pressures, plus general inflation, are slicing margins at Australian cafes. A large player in the Australian coffee industry, Essential Coffee's wage bill has risen 9 per cent in two years, combined with a 29 per cent increase in rent and a 6 per cent rise in insurance. Mr Hiscock told the ABC the price of wholesale coffee had risen 119 per cent since November 2023. 'It's hard because people are very sensitive to their beloved coffee and when you move the price up, you find not just a lot of negative reaction, you find some very terse expletives,' he said.
New York Post
9 hours ago
- New York Post
Cuomo's sister-in-law allegedly used influence to try to help posh Hamptons club
Cristina Cuomo allegedly used her family connections to try to help the posh Surf Lodge in tony Montauk keep its crucial liquor and music licenses, The Post has learned. Long Island's Surf Lodge — owned by Jayma Cardosa, a buddy of ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo's sister-in-law — was fighting to keep its licenses in 2019 amid violations with the State Liquor Authority and local town officials. Cardoso hoped to get then-Gov. Cuomo — through Cristina and her husband Chris Cuomo, Andrew's brother — to 'soften up' then-SLA Chairman Vincent Bradley, who was appointed by Andrew, reveal emails obtained by The Post. Advertisement Cristina emailed Cordoso around that time saying she had spoken to her husband Chris about the Surf Lounge's licensing problems, and the venue owner seemed giddy. 7 Cristina Cuomo allegedly used her family connections to try to help the posh Surf Lodge in tony Montauk keep its liquor and music licenses. Getty Images 'Hopefully Chris Cuomo can speak with w his brother to soften up the chairman. Finger crossed!!! Happy New Year!,' Cordoso told Cristina in her 2019 New Year's response. Advertisement Cristina has held events at the Surf Lodge, and Andrew Cuomo — who resigned as governor over a slew of allegations in 2021 and is now making a comeback bid for New York City mayor — held a re-election fundraiser there in June 2018. Andrew has denied all of the allegations against him. Christina ended up writing a name-dropping letter to Bradley on Feb. 6, 2019, on behalf of Cardoso. 'Dear Vincent, I hope you are well. By way of my husband Chris Cuomo, I got your email from my brother-in-law, Gov. Andrew Cuomo,' Cristina said. She said she was writing on behalf of her 'friend and fellow Brazilian' Cardoso, who faced 'potential license revocation' for overcrowding conditions cited by a fire-marshal inspection during the prior year's Labor Day weekend. Advertisement The SLA had threatened to 'eliminate live music' at the venue as part of a proposed settlement with it so that it could keep the liquor license, the letter said. Cardoso was proposing to bolster security and increase access points into the venue to address the issues, Cristina told the SLA chairman. 7 Cristina has held events at the Surf Lodge, and Andrew Cuomo held a gubernatorial re-election fundraiser there in June 2018. Courtesy of The Surf Lodge 7 Cuomo told The Post through a spokesman that he did not intervene in the situation. Debra L Rothenberg/Shutterstock Advertisement The owner also was willing to reducing live entertainment from seven to three days a week and end it at 8 p.m. every evening as a compromise, the letter said. 'Jayma has brought Grammy Award winning live music and culture to the Hamptons community for 11 years, and has attributed to Montauk's burgeoning tourism while other establishments have come and gone,' Cristina told Bradley in her letter. Cristina, founder of the health+wellness platform Purist that operates in the city and Hamptons, added, 'I cherish our family vacation time out East and the cultural outlets that make our enjoyment of the Hamptons all the more special. 'Thank you for your thoughtful consideration in preserving the arts and culture at The Surf Lodge and the Hamptons as a whole.' 7 Cristina is married to Andrew's brother Chris. WireImage She then offered her phone number to Bradley in case he wanted to discuss the matter further with a call. As it turned out, the SLA's license was renewed. In the settlement pact, the owner agreed to pay $55,000 in civil penalties and limit music to three nights a week, stopping at 8 p.m. Upstate Republican Borrello, who is a restaurateur, said Cristina's letter doesn't pass the ethics smell test. Advertisement 'This letter is trading on the Cuomo name. It's obvious,' said Borrello, who owns five eateries and knows what it's like to face the SLA. 'Andrew Cuomo fancies himself as the ethics czar when he was governor. This type of influence-peddling is certainly hypocritical for the Cuomo family,' he said. 7 Former Gov. Cuomo is now running for New York City mayor. 7 Cristina said she had spoken to her husband about the venue's issues. DMI Advertisement 7 Andrew Cuomo 'certainly took no action' in the licensing issue, his rep said Sunday. AP But Cristina defended her role in trying to help the Surf Lodge owner keep her popular establishment. 'I wrote this as a member of the Hamptons community to help a friend,'' Cristina told The Post on Sunday. 'She was in jeopardy of losing her music license. Advertisement 'I didn't do anything wrong,' Cristina added. Cardoso did not respond to a Post request for comment. Andrew Cuomo is now the front-runner in the Democratic primary for mayor. Advertisement His campaign denied that the ex-governor had intervened in the Surf Lodge based on the letter from his sister-in-law or any other interactions. Through a campaign rep, Cuomo pleaded ignorance on the topic and claimed it's much ado about nothing. 'We knew nothing about this situation and certainly took no action, but the fact this seven year old letter is getting shopped around weeks before Election Day shows just how desperate people are getting — this really is some bottom of the barrel stuff,' said Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi.
Chicago Tribune
17 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Israel vows to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching Gaza
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel's government on Sunday vowed to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching the Gaza Strip. Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel wouldn't allow anyone to break its naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, which he said was aimed at preventing Hamas from importing arms. 'To the antisemitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propagandists — I will say this clearly: You should turn back, because you will not make it to Gaza,' he said in a statement. Thunberg, a climate campaigner, is among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The vessel departed Sicily last Sunday on a mission that aims to break the sea blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, while raising awareness over the growing humanitarian crisis 20 months into the Israel-Hamas war. The activists had said they planned to reach Gaza's territorial waters as early as Sunday. Thiago Ávila, a Brazilian activist on board the boat, posted a video on social media Sunday afternoon saying someone appeared to be jamming their tracking and communication devices about 160 nautical miles from Gaza. Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, is among the others onboard. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. After a 2½-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month, but humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless the blockade is lifted and Israel ends its military offensive. An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group's vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship. Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Critics of the blockade say it amounts to collective punishment of Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians. Israel sealed Gaza off from all aid in the early days of the war ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but later relented under U.S. pressure. In early March, shortly before Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas, the country again blocked all imports, including food, fuel and medicine. Hamas killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages, more than half of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Hamas is still holding 55 hostages, more than half of them believed to be dead. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up most of the dead. It doesn't say whether those killed are civilians or combatants. The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of the territory's population, leaving people there almost completely dependent on international aid.
