By Ryan Hanrahan
Successful Farming
Bloomberg’s Clarice Couto reported this past Friday that “a surprising tax change in agriculture powerhouse Brazil has the potential to make soy grown in the world’s largest bean exporter less competitive with supplies from the US, according to a report from risk management firm Amius Ltd. The provisional measure, signed Tuesday by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, limits the ability of Brazil’s commodity exporters and processors to monetize tax credits. To compensate, merchants will likely raise soy prices, making beans grown in Brazil less competitive with American soy, at least in the short term.”