MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Russia and Brazil main buyers of Paraguayan beef in spite of FMD
Beef is Paraguay’s second export item behind soybeans Paraguay refrigerated beef exports to Brazil soared 202% during March compared to a year ago and is turning the giant neighbour into the main partner for the item replacing Chile, which ceased purchases following an outbreak of Foot and mouth disease a few months ago.
“Brazil has gained territory in the last few months”, said economist Belen Servin from the Paraguayan Economics Centre of Analysis, CADEP, analyzing the latest foreign trade release supplied monthly by the country’s central bank.
However beef exports in March only totalled 71 million dollars, 20% less that a year ago, and in the first quarter beef exports reached 155 million dollars, which is 32% below 2011.
Beef is Paraguay’s second export item behind soybeans but both ranchers and abattoirs suffered a major blow with the outbreak of FMD which meant the immediate ban for Paraguayan beef from Chilean and EU markets.
Russia the other big buyer of beef currently absorbs 77% of exports, followed by Brazil with a modest 14%. In spite of the increase of shipments to Brazil, refrigerated beef exports fell 80% over a year ago compared to a 50% increase in frozen beef exports in the same period, said Servin.
CADEP believes that in a conservative scenario, with Brazil as the main importer of refrigerated beef, Paraguay could export 502 million dollars of beef in 2012, which is 34% below last year. In a more optimist context, if shipments to Brazil and Russia recover to levels previous to the FMD outbreak, sales could reach 623 million dollars, 18% less than in 2011.
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Read all commentsReuters Moscow: Saturday April 28, 2012
Apr 29th, 2012 - 12:36 am 0In an earth shattering announcement, the Venezuelan government has leaked news today about a new defense agreement involving Russia, Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina.
As a part of his “Bolivarian Revolution”, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez has been closely involved in negotiations to modernize not only his country, but also the armed forces of both Argentina and Bolivia with a remarkable revolutionary concept that has left his admirers in a elevated state of approval.
Assisting Presidents Chávez and Morales is the special defense minister, Maximo Kirchner who is assisting in one of the most complex, costly and sophisticated arms for petroleum trade barter agreements in history.
To summarize the deal is as follows: Venezuela will acquire 92 T-72 Main battle tanks from the Russian Federation. The 84 French AMX-30 Main battle tanks and a few assorted other models will be transferred to Argentina. In turn, the antiquated 54 austrian tanks now used by Bolivia will be transferred to Venezuela for target practice. The 236 domestically designed and manufactured “Tanque Argentino Mediano” will be sent to arm the Bolivian forces.
Payment of the transfers will be extraordinary as Venezuela’s purchase will be a part of the Argentine promised repayment of the near 100 billion loan bailout agreement between the two nations, that will be accomplished with barter grain and refined petroleum shipments to St. Petersburg over the coming harvests. Bolivia will repay Argentina with natural gas shipments in exchange for the upgrade in armament. As the special defense minister, Kirchner was quoted: “we all get something from the deal, some more than others…”
In other related news, the government of Paraguay is planning to take this alarming news to the UN Security Counsel as they are worried about the escalation of a military build up in the region. There were no other comments.
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