Brazil could pass a law by the end of June which would lift a ban on the purchase of agricultural land from foreign parties, the Agriculture Minister said in an interview, adding that he supported maintaining some restrictions to ensure farms were put to productive use. Some worry that the decision could lead to a slowing down of agriculture in the country.
The bill, which still has to go before Congress, would end an effective ban on major foreign ownership of agricultural land imposed in 2010 under leftist former-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The move is part of a series of measures to keep Brazil's giant agriculture sector growing, something seen as crucial to government attempts to lift Latin America's No. 1 economy out of its deepest recession on record.
"There will be changes," Blairo Maggi said in an interview in his office in Brasilia on Wednesday. Asked if the bill could pass in the first half of 2017, he said "it could." "I'm not worried about the ownership of the land ... I'm worried about the use of the land," Maggi added. The bill would, according to the minister, seek to avoid land speculation and large foreign investment funds buying vast swathes of territory only to leave it idle if commodity prices fell.
Instead, Maggi said reforms would look to support foreign investment in agricultural products with longer production cycles such as oranges, pulp, sugar cane and coffee. Restrictions could apply to soy, corn and other crops which are harvested the same year as they are planted, he said.
source: nasdaq.com
