Source: Ukragroconsult (Ukraine)
Brazil, one of the world’s largest agricultural producers of corn and soybeans, hopes to become self-sufficient in wheat production over the next decade, according to a USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) report.
Brazil, with a population of 215 million, consumes more than 12 million tons of wheat and wheat-based products annually, more than the projected national production of about 9.5 million tons for the 2024-25 marketing year. As a result, Brazil is one of the ten largest grain importers in the world and relies primarily on Argentina, which accounts for more than 80 percent of Brazilian imports.
In the early 2000s, Brazilian wheat production was able to cover just over 30% of national demand. By the 2022-2023 harvest, however, the level of self-sufficiency could be increased to 80%, which represents a significant improvement. Despite this progress, there is still a gap between production and consumption in the country.
“Farmers and scientists have made significant progress in increasing crop yields, yields and acreage,” says the FAS. “However, there are still significant challenges to overcome in order to achieve the Brazilian government’s ambitious plan for wheat self-sufficiency in the next decade.”
Wheat self-sufficiency could be achieved by cultivating land in the Cerrado biome, a savannah-like region in central Brazil, according to the FAS. The government wants to expand wheat production on almost 4 million hectares of degraded land and use adapted wheat seed varieties that are resistant to the dry weather and soil conditions that prevail in the region.
Wheat cultivation in Brazil is mainly concentrated in the southern states, including Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná, where the climate is predominantly temperate and subtropical. These two states account for around 80% of the country’s annual wheat production.
The Cerrado biome is the second largest in Brazil and covers around 22% of the country’s total area. The Cerrado region is characterized by two distinct seasons: a rainy season, which lasts from September/October to March/April, and a dry season from April/May to September/October.
“The growth cycle of wheat lasts between 100 and 170 days and usually depends on the variety, the weather and the soil conditions,” says the FAS. “In the Cerrado region of Brazil, there are different seasons, with six months of rain and six months of drought. This makes it ideal for growing tropical wheat, as the clearer weather conditions help to control diseases and pests, and also help with the choice of cropping system, whether it is rainfed or irrigated.
In the early 1990s, the Brazilian government stopped intervening in wheat procurement and the sector came under pressure to improve grain quality. As a result, the Brazilian wheat production system was significantly modified to meet international market parameters.
The development of varieties previously dominated by soft wheat was quickly replaced by higher quality soft wheat. This enabled the use of industrial products with specific properties such as bread, cookies, thickeners and other foods for human consumption. In addition, higher quality wheat varieties were developed for animal feed, with higher levels of protein, fiber and amino acids.
The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) has been working since the 1980s to develop wheat varieties that are particularly resistant to drought and heat and are ideal for sowing in the Cerrado region. Although many varieties have been introduced in the region to date, four are the most important: BRS 264, BRS 394, BRS 404 and BRS 254.
Farmers in central Brazil have expressed interest in growing tropical wheat as a second crop after corn or soybeans, but face challenges such as high commodity costs due to poor soils, high incidence of wheat blight, procurement of wheat production equipment and logistics. Therefore, many farmers prefer to continue investing in more reliable and less risky crops.
Another major obstacle is the lack of large mills that can process wheat in the Cerrado region. The state of Minas Gerais alone has 800,000 tons of flour processing capacity, of which it is estimated that only 200,000 tons are used. The factories are traditionally located in the north and northeast of Brazil, where the ports are located, and in the south and southeast, where most of the production takes place.
“The Brazilian government’s goal of turning Brazil from one of the largest importers into a self-sufficient nation within ten years is being hampered by the well-known problems of the country’s farmers,” says the FAS. “However, significant investments have been made in the production of varieties and equipment that are better adapted to the conditions of the Cerrado biome. Considering the history Brazil made with corn and soybeans, when the country went from being a net importer to a major exporter in the 1980s, Brazilian tropical wheat is likely to experience a similar boom as other cereal crops before it.”