Beating back Brazil: at first glance, Brazilian farmers seem poised to overtake U.S. soybean exports. But here's a look at what you haven't heard yet

摘要

Since the first farmers and ag reporters began traveling to Brazil, they've brought back stories of vast and expanding prairies; of soybeans and cotton as far as the eye can see; of cheap land, cheap labor and cheap inputs. "Sure," they reported, "the roads are terrible. But they're building infrastructure as we speak. They're a menace to U.S. soybean production." Pundits, traders and farmers alike have forecasted that the low-cost Brazilians will force U.S. farmers out of the soybean export marketin a matter of just a few years. But not so fast, say a team of agricultural economists from Brazil and Illinois who've spent the last several months comparing both costs and external factors between the regions. By the numbers, Brazil beats the UnitedStates on cost of production when you factor in land. However, its transportation costs to European ports are so high -- and challenges for improvement so great -- that it may be decades before Brazil overtakes the United States as the number one soybeanexporter.