Insults from the Brazilian government opposed to China, the country’s main trading partner, are negative for Brazil’s business interests and “not even very smart,” Cargill’s director general of local operations said Wednesday.
The competitive stance against China taken by members of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro’s government is “a wonderful source of concern,” Paulo Sousa said in an interview with a local newspaper broadcast live on social media.
Bolsonaro has in the past criticized China’s growing economic role in Brazil and aligned his country with the United States.
His son Eduardo Bolsonaro, a legislator, accused China in March of spreading the new coronavirus to other countries, and Education Minister Abraham Weintraub reported in April that the disease would “dominate the world” in a Twitter article that mocked Chinese accents.
“We have the role of offering food to everyone, regardless of a country’s color, race, ideals or political preferences,” Sousa said. “It is not appropriate for brazilian government representatives to insult our greatest client. I’d say he’s not even very smart.”
Cargill was Brazil’s largest soybean and maize shipper in the five months to May, according to the knowledge of shipping agencies. The U.S.-based grain merchant exported 8.1 million tons of oilseeds outside Brazil and only about 342,000 tons of maize in the period.
The Brazilian government did not comment.
But Sousa, who assumed the chairmanship of Operation Cargill in Brazil last December, said he saw no sign of Brazil’s industry disruption with China.
Ed said Brazilian soybean exports, of which China is the largest buyer, have exceeded expectations this year. And while the COVID-19 pandemic hit Brazil very hard, it has disrupted agricultural export flows due to the resistance of local food chains.