Latest news with #RobertoSamora
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Brazil hopes to be officially free of bird flu in 28 days
By Ana Mano and Roberto Samora SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazil began a 28-day bird flu observation period on Thursday which it hopes will show the country's chicken farms are free of the disease after local authorities said a farm where its first outbreak was detected had been fully disinfected. The outbreak in the world's largest chicken exporter, detected in the town of Montenegro in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, triggered trade bans from multiple countries. The report from state authorities late on Wednesday that the farm was cleared means that if no other cases of bird flu are detected on Brazilian commercial chicken farms over the next 28 days, the country may be considered free of the disease. The count starts on Thursday, authorities said. "We need to ensure that the 28 days of observation occur without new outbreaks," Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro said after a meeting with Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite this week. "We are reinforcing actions to ensure that everything is perfectly safe," he said. Eleven active investigations into potential bird flu cases in Brazil are ongoing, including two on commercial chicken farms in Santa Catarina and Tocantins states. On Wednesday, Tocantins state authorities ruled out an outbreak of bird flu in the farm where the investigation was being conducted, citing preliminary test results. However, the federal government is conducting additional tests, according to the agriculture ministry's website. Wagner Yanaguizawa, an analyst at Rabobank, said the next few days will be decisive in determining whether the outbreak has been contained. "After 28 days, if there are no new cases from then on, Brazil can declare itself free of the disease," he said, adding that it will then be up to the importers to lift existing trade bans. "But then trade flows will most likely return to normal," Yanaguizawa said.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's Cofco hiring dozens in farm powerhouse Brazil
By Roberto Samora SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Cofco International, which is building its biggest export port terminal in the world in Brazil, said on Tuesday China's state-run food group is recruiting dozens in the South American farm powerhouse. The move underscores the importance of Brazil to the company amid an escalating global trade war opposing the United States and China, which tends to boost sales of agricultural products like soybeans from the South American country to the Asian nation. Cofco's hiring spree in Brazil also comes as U.S.-headquartered competitors like Archer-Daniels-Midland Co and Cargill cut costs and headcount worldwide. "There are openings in different departments and hierarchical levels, most of which are in operations, sales, trading and administrative areas," Cofco said to answer a question from Reuters after a recruiting event. It declined to comment specifically on the effects of the tariffs on its Brazilian operation, nor did it specify how many job openings are currently available. Cofco, which is one of Brazil's largest grain exporters and also sources and exports oilseeds, sugar, coffee, and cotton, and produces ethanol, has already invested in the country's top soybean port, Santos. As part of the company's expansion drive, Cofco is building a new grains terminal at Santos, which is expected to be operational later this year. Cofco said it is already carrying out the operational tests to complete the facility's first phase of construction. Next year, when the second phase of the project should be complete, the company's export capacity at Santos will increase to 14 million metric tons of grains, compared with the current 4.5 million tons.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's Cofco hiring dozens in farm powerhouse Brazil
By Roberto Samora SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Cofco International, which is building its biggest export port terminal in the world in Brazil, said on Tuesday China's state-run food group is recruiting dozens in the South American farm powerhouse. The move underscores the importance of Brazil to the company amid an escalating global trade war opposing the United States and China, which tends to boost sales of agricultural products like soybeans from the South American country to the Asian nation. Cofco's hiring spree in Brazil also comes as U.S.-headquartered competitors like Archer-Daniels-Midland Co and Cargill cut costs and headcount worldwide. "There are openings in different departments and hierarchical levels, most of which are in operations, sales, trading and administrative areas," Cofco said to answer a question from Reuters after a recruiting event. It declined to comment specifically on the effects of the tariffs on its Brazilian operation, nor did it specify how many job openings are currently available. Cofco, which is one of Brazil's largest grain exporters and also sources and exports oilseeds, sugar, coffee, and cotton, and produces ethanol, has already invested in the country's top soybean port, Santos. As part of the company's expansion drive, Cofco is building a new grains terminal at Santos, which is expected to be operational later this year. Cofco said it is already carrying out the operational tests to complete the facility's first phase of construction. Next year, when the second phase of the project should be complete, the company's export capacity at Santos will increase to 14 million metric tons of grains, compared with the current 4.5 million tons. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brazil coffee exporters glimpse opportunity amidst U.S tariffs
By Roberto Samora SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian coffee exporters see U.S. President Donald Trump's global tariffs as an opportunity to send more robusta beans to the United States after international rivals were hit with even heavier charges. Trump's tariffs levy a charge of 10% on imports from Brazil, while Vietnam and Indonesia - the world's first and third-largest robusta producers - got hit by 46% and 32% tariffs respectively. Opportunities could arise for Brazilian exporters if the U.S. coffee industry fails to get the grain - of which the United States does not produce much - put on a tariff exemption list, as well as if Vietnam is unable to reverse its own charge in separate negotiations, the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafe) said on Monday. "There are opportunities, but the scenario is more one of concern than of gains", Cecafe director general director Marcos Matos said in an interview. The United States was Brazilian coffee's biggest buyer in 2024, with purchases of 8.13 million 60 kilogram bags, according to Cecafe, accounting for a 16% share of total Brazilian coffee exports. Vietnam and Indonesia accounted for some 2 million bags of coffee bought by the U.S. market, Matos said, adding that most of their exports were robusta beans. Each year, Brazil, the world's largest coffee grower, produces more of the milder Arabica beans than the stronger-tasting robusta. However, experts forecast a decrease in Arabica output during the 2025 harvest and a significant increase in robusta production. Coffee tends to fare better than other goods during turbulent times, Matos said - citing the COVID-19 pandemic - and added that Brazil is at least facing the lowest possible tariff and is in a position to maintain its share of sales to the U.S.. "Coffee tends to be resilient in economic crises..., but obviously it has limits, it can grow less," Matos said. The best outcome would see coffee included on a tariff exemption list, Matos said, citing studies showing that every dollar of coffee imports generates $43 for the U.S. economy. "We are trying to go the way (of an exception list), showing the benefit coffee has for the economy," Matos said.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brazil's JBS reports rise in quarterly profit
By Ana Mano and Roberto Samora SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazil-based JBS, the world's largest meat packer, posted a sharp rise in net profit in the final quarter of 2024, even as the company's U.S. beef division grapples with high cattle prices. The company said fourth quarter profit came in at 2.412 billion reais ($423.57 million), up from about 83 million reais the year earlier. The company said adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, a measure of operating income known as EBITDA, came in at 10.789 billion reais, higher than the 9.888 billion reais predicted by analysts. In an interview, CEO Gilberto Tomazoni said its U.S. beef business remained strong despite U.S. challenges of cattle becoming scarce and expensive, pressuring margins in the market where the company derives most of its sales. That division's EBITDA was 647.1 million reais last quarter, up from a negative EBITDA of 488.5 million in the same period of 2023. Margins stood at 1.7% for the division, up from -1.6% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Tomazoni said the operating environment in the U.S. was more challenging last year than the previous year, but the company was still able to raise margins. He also praised what he called the "turnaround" of Seara, the company's processed foods division in Brazil, which has recorded high, double-digit margins in the last two quarters and registered EBITDA of 2.627 billion reais in the final three months of 2024, a 292% increase from the previous year. JBS recorded consolidated net revenue of 116.7 billion reais in the fourth quarter, up 21% from the same year ago quarter. For 2024, JBS' adjusted EBITDA reached 39 billion reais, with an adjusted margin of 9.4%, up 4.7 percentage points from the previous year and driven by improved profitability across all business units. Net profit last year was 9.615 billion reais, reversing a net loss of about 1 billion reais in 2023, the company said. Sign in to access your portfolio
