The Russian phytosanitary service Rosselkhoznadzor uses the German Grüne Woche to strengthen ties with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. The service sees opportunities for wheat exports to Brazil.
The reason the agency is involved in discussions with the Brazilian Minister of Agriculture (Luis Eduardo Pacifici Rangel) has to do with several requirements that Russia must meet. For example, Rosselkhoznadzor has shown their phytosanitary requirements and the Brazilians have drawn up a list of flour mills that can receive the wheat in quarantine, in order to prevent the spread of weed seeds. This is reported by the phytosanitary service.
Pollution
Rosselkhoznadzor and the Brazilian ministry started a joint project for wheat exports to South America last year. Brazil has 9 storage and processing locations that can directly receive Russian wheat. The list of suitable companies is expected to increase rapidly. Since the wheat is processed directly, at the same location, slight contamination with weed seeds is permitted. An important argument for Russia.
Skeptical reaction
Brazil imports about 7 million tons of wheat annually. This makes it the largest global importer. The vast majority come from neighboring Argentina. Analysts are somewhat skeptical about the plans. Russian wheat may be the cheapest worldwide, but at the end of the day it is financially more beneficial to get wheat from Argentina.
Under the Mercosur agreements, wheat imports from Argentina are not taxed. Moreover, transport costs are considerably lower. The United States is also a competitor in terms of price. Russian wheat faces a 10% import tax. The Brazilians would be particularly interested in Russian wheat, because (in addition to a low price) the quality is higher compared to wheat from Argentina.