TheEconomist

Brazilians producers of organic food could take advantage of an increasing shortage of this sort of grains, vegetables, fruits, honey, brown sugar and transgenic-free soya in the European markets, as reported today in the Netherlands.

The problem is that large food producers countries like Brazil haven’t prepared themselves to gain this share of Europe’s growing market for organic - or biologish, as is most popular in northern Europe.

The hoge soya beans market, for instance, has already been faced with a 10% plus on non-transgenic imports from South America. Brazilian producers still free of transgenic are organizind themselfs in coops and trade companies to deal with the incresing demand on this kind of commodity.

- It’s logic that is all biologic - stress organic cooker and artist in Rotterdam, Julio Hagen-Pimentel, from Brazil, while preparing another dinner party for Dutch people at an non-governamental organisation (ngo) connected with the biodynamic agriculture movement of Rudolph Steiner’s followers in Holland.

Today’s newspaper reports here that organic, biologic, biodynamic, or health food as it is said in California, will face price rising immediately if domestic producers do not respond to market needs in the Netherlands.

Supermarkets around Rotterdam, for instance, already face shortage of organic food, says the midia in headlines as this is a very popular item nowadays in this part of Europe.

Quoting the national retail board CBL, the Volkskrant (People’s Journal) reports today that Dutch supermarkets will be forced to import increasing amounts of organic food unless domestic production is expanded.
 
‘We would rather not import organic food because bringing it from across the globe is not environment-friendly and is more expensive,’ the CBL’s Marc Jansen told the paper.
 

At the same time however, some 60% of Dutch production of organic food is exported abroad, mainly to Denmark, Germany and Britain.

The CBL announced on Tuesday that it expects organic food sales to rise 15% this year to a record €530m. While volumes are increasing, the shortage of some products is also helping to push up prices.

Supermarkets want sales of organic food to grow twice as fast as the food sector as a whole, the CBL says. Organic food currently accounts for some 2% of supermarket sales with eggs, vegetables, fruit and meat accounting for 63% of the total.

‘The average family now eats organic food for the equivalent of one week a year,’ Jansen told the Volkskrant.

Despite growing demand from consumers, organic farming still only accounts for 2.4% of the total, despite government targets to boost this.

The government target is for 10% of farmland to be devoted to organic production by 2010. It also wants organic products to account for 5% of all spending on food.  

(With © www.DutchNews.nl reporters).

Faced with melting polar ice caps and worsening droughts, climate experts at a massive U.N. conference Monday urged quick action toward a new international pact stemming an increasingly destructive rise in world temperatures.

A key goal of the two-week conference, which opened with delegates from nearly 190 countries in attendance, will be to draw a skeptical United States into an agreement to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases.

While the U.S. delegation declared it would not be a “roadblock” to a new agreement, Washington remains opposed to steps many other countries support, such as mandatory emissions cuts by rich nations and a target for limiting the rise in global temperatures.

The American position suffered a blow Monday when the new Australian prime minister signed papers to ratify the Kyoto Protocol climate pact. The move leaves the U.S. — the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gases — as the sole industrial country outside Kyoto. (With reports by CNN).

Brazilian Government of president Luis Lula da Silva is expected to annouce in Jacarta, Indonesia, during the United Nations Conference on Global Warming, how and when Brazil is going to cut CO2 emissions, mainly caused by Amazon forest desctruction for economic explotation.

Lula’s Workers Party (PT) has not reahed any agreement with rightwing allied parties in Congresso in order to vote Green Party ’s propositions setting up goals for reducing carbon gas emissions by Brazil, listed as number 4 among large polluters in the world.

Environment minister Marina Silva is expected in Jacarta, as well as representatives of other 190 nations.

Anti-globalization activists plan to  march in front of the main hall of UN conference in Jacarta despite high secutiry measures all over Indonesia ’s capital.

Brazilian president of Senate, Renan Calheiros, will keep his mandate, as 81 senators just decided, a few minutes ago.

Calheiros was judged by his pairs under the charge of corruption and he received 40 votes of supporters, against 35 votes for impeachment and six senators that haven´t voted.

These six votes may have came from the 12 senators of Partido dos Trabalhadores-PT (Workers Party). showing the participation of president Lula da Silva´s party in this process.

Public opinion favors Calheiros resigning.

 He´s under fire in other three charges, all of them related to corruption (business with contractors and so on).  The scandal became public his affair with a young journalist (they have a child 4 years ago), whose pension he was paying with money comming from Mendes Junior S/A, a large engineering and road construction company.

The political crisis in Brazil goes on.

Brazil is ok, I´m ok and you are ok - that´s more or less what some people in Europe heared from president Lula da Silva today or yesterday, don´t know for sure why.

The story is about the trend in short terms for basic  interest rates reduction in Brazilian economy - Lula didn´t showed any interest in stopping his own plans with a bit of basic economics.

-People is willing, mister, to invest in Brazil, you know? Alcohol, yeaj, ethanol and all that.

Inflation acceleration:

-Oh no, forget it , if what you want is to keep on making money on me, man, forget about it…

-?

Stock markets in Sao Paulo closed today in good shape, following this other story wiring all over, about the very true futurology by the  Federal Reserve´s decision already taken: to reduce basic interest rates by some 0,25 pp next Thursday (18).

Lula wants to keep on going. His plans before global finance crisis are to be taken seriously, about  promoting domestic economic growth in order to answer the main national problem here - create jobs for millions.

Next Tuesday (18) there will be another meeting at Brazilian Central Banco´s committee on monetary policy, probably to annouce a cutting by 0,25 pp instead of 0,5 pp on basic interest rates.

Here, like there.

Diference is that United States faces the challenge of recesion next year and Brazil is on the good part of the curve, with his alcohol driven  million of cars and now the ethanol run - basides strong economic fundamentals that could help to atract direct investments.

But in order to atract foreing capital that Brazil needs the “invest grade” by JP Morgan - so get it, just with low interest rates.

Nothing like a day after another one, says the Portuguese.

Everything looked nice today in Brazilian economy - even the stock markets went up again in Sao Paulo (2,11%), following Wall Street (Dow Jones up 1,9, Nasdaq 2,5%).

And, basically, the exuberance spread around by US Federal Reserve with a few more billions given to save banks.

Exchange rates in Brazil keeps on floating, as it should be in this world finance crisis:

US dollar was negotiated by the end ot the day at R$ 1,966 for US$ 1,00 (better than crisis breaking point of 2,0).

All figures are far out in Brazilian economy, at least to Banco Central:

* Foreing Reserves are up again in few days, from US$ 158 billions to US$ 161 this Wednesday;

* Inflation is under control (small pressure on July prices);

* Foreing commerce must end this year with a surplus around US$ 44,5 billion, as Central Bank´s directors told the press this evening in Brasilia.

The balance of commerce registered a surplus of US$ 44,3 last month, just a little bit lower than June´s figures (US$ 44,3 bi).

Well, as a friend from Rio said today at an internet meeting, the only thing President Lula is in debt with Brazil is a deep economic reform.

To cut public expenditures (which are growing as GDP´s 5%) to modernize the country and GNP growth at sustained 7% yr without destroing Amazon forest for that purpose.

President Lula called a cabinet meeting next Thursday (30) to discuss international finance crisis and its impact on Brazlian economy this year to 2010. 

Right now São Paulo stock market is down a little bit now (minus .42%).

Commercial balance superavit is gorwing to a

Volatility in exchange markets haven´t come to anything else but a nervous day all over.

Importer quant to know how much their´re gonna pay?

Exporter are optmistic - at least in Asia, this moring.

Here, expectation about the exchange rait  - wait to see how it will be.

Brazilian real is worth the same as last Friday: R$ 1,95 for US$ 1,00.

Here, everyone looks at US economic indicators like if America were in the hurricane eye.

Were?

Denise Abreu, the strong young woman who was seen smoking cigars after the Air Bus explosion (photo) in Sao Paulo Congonhas Airport, Brazil.

Now the new Defense minister, Nelson Jobim, will appoint to Congress new names for the agency, one of the responsible for the disaster that killed 199 people recently.

Famosa nos últimos dias por opor resistência a todos e tudo na autônoma Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (Anac), Denise Abreu finalmente pediu demissão.

Diretora com mandato aprovado pelo Congresso, Denise irritou parlamentares nas CPIs do Apagão Aéreo na Câmara e no Senado, pela arrogância que não foi desfeita por pedidos formais de desculpa.

Nomeado pelo presidente Lula para resolver a crise aérea brasileira, o maior problema deste segundo mandato, o novo ministro da Defesa, Nelson Jobim, perdeu a paciência ontem com a Anac e pediu de público que a diretoria toda renunciasse para facilitar a solução dos problemas.

No Congresso, ela tentou ao longo da semana enrolar senadores e deputados com a estória de um documento que foi parar na internet (sobre normas para não serem permitidas aterrisagens em Congonhas de Air Buses com reverso travado sob chuvas).

Nem o digitalizado e experiente deputado verde Fernando Gabeira (PV-RJ) conseguiu que Denise entregasse o jogo na CPI do Apagão Aéreo, pois ela dizia que o documento não era oficial, não sabia porque foi para a rede de computadores e, finalmente, de que não valeria de qualquer forma para aviões do tipo que explodiu em Congonhas (foto).

Para os deputados, Denise e a Anac devem ser co-indiciadas pelo acidente com 199 mortos com o Air Bus da TAM no aeroporto de Congonhas - pelo menos.

A ex-diretora é acusada também de ter feito gestões para beneficiar amigos empresários com a transferÊncia da área de cargas da capital paulista para aeroportos no interior do estado.

(detalhes nas agencias)

Brazilian stock markets will open in one hour under strong pressure coming from Asia, where Nikkei index went down about 2% this morning.

Yesterday, as this economist forecasted last week, Brazilian Real was devaluated again - exchange rates went up to one dollar for 2,03 reals (it could reach up to 2,2 per dollar without serious troubles for local inflation now under control at 4% a year.

Yesterday night the 6.7 Richter escale earthquake in Peruvian ocean killed hundreds and Hawaii launched tsunami alerts valid for Chile and parts of South America west coast.

In Brazil President Lula asked Finance minister Guido Mantega some sort of B plan just in case domestic economy suffers too much inflation impact during this global crisis.

Let´s see what happens when São Paulo market opens at nine, Brasilia time - guess what?

Doing business or any other sort of relation with Brazil this Monday? There´s no worth news in the economic front yet (stock market is about to open in Sao Paulo).

So let´s go to Civil War in Rio de Janeiro  (some Sports included):

*President Lula may keep 2,000 National Security Force troops in Rio de Janeiro state, to enforce law against narcoguerrillas and police-made militias in the favelas up-on-the hill shantytowns, even after Pan American Games ended Sunday.

(US won the 42 all-American countries competition, followed by Cuba then Brazil, as gold condecoration is concerned).

Brazilian serious air crisis ( 2 air disasters with 400 deaths in 10 months) started to be managed by new Defense minister (and perhaps future presidential candidate), Nelson Jobim, southern border tough politician with good public image, president of Supreme Court until last year, and, last but the most important, did not get rich doing politics. 

Lula has already indicated he would like to see a Safra Bank director, friend of him and good executive, as new  Airports Infra-structure Authority (Infraero) CEO, instead of already fired an Air Force official who did nothing to stop air crisis.

And perhaps will be found guilty for letting PT  (Lula´s Workers Party) activists to take over the state owned company, which helped to speed up the air crisis.

PS - Swedish movie diretor Ernst Ingmar Berman (photo) has died last night, leaving about 50 great movies such as Das Schlangenei (The Snake Egg), which is an alert over hiperinflation on people´s minds and hearts.