‘Trees worth more felled than standing in Brazil’

Deforestation will continue as long as trees are worth more cut down than standing, one of Brazil’s leading politicians has warned.

Speaking at the Nuffield Contemporary Scholars Conference in Campo Grande, Brazil, State Governor of Mato Grosso do Sul, Eduardo Riedel, described his region as the “ultimate powerhouse” of food production.

“I don’t think we have an issue here [in Mato Grosso do Sul]. We have in Brazil what we call the frontiers, where agriculture is increasing on areas of forest,” he said.

“This happens because the environmental assets aren’t worth what they should be worth. If a tree values more on the ground than standing, probably this area will still be the frontier of agriculture.” Mato Grosso do Sul had the largest agriculture GDP growth in 2023 at 32pc. Since the 2009/2010 season, soybean production in the region has increased from 1.8 million hectares to four million hectares in 2022/2023.

“We don’t need that [deforestation] to grow production. We have a long way to go in productivity to increase Brazilian production,” he said.

Complex

“It’s a very complex discussion on how much we can increase the forested areas, how many people need food.

“People still need to increase their access to food. If it doesn’t happen in Brazil, where is it going to happen, with a country with 66pc of its original vegetation?”

The state was first to certify carbon credits related to avoided deforestation and degradation. The Governor welcomed criticism, suggesting this would help the state to improve into the future. “I’m just arriving from Belgium from a talk with the European Union on the rules for importing produce from Brazil,” he said.

“By 2025, any product that is produced after 2020, due to deforestation, wouldn’t be allowed… With improvements every day, I think this should improve our case.

“We are aiming to make the state carbon neutral by 2030 and increase agriculture because it’s possible.”

Meanwhile, JBS Campo Grande was granted export clearance for China on March 12, with the facility having a maximum slaughter capacity of 3,000 animals per day, with a current throughput and deboning capacity of 2,000 animals per day.

Climate Action Leader for JBS Brazil, Sheila Guebara, said the company is striving to produce “guilt free” meat for the consumer.