LatinNews Daily - 14 March 2024

*Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has travelled to Minas Gerais state to attend the inauguration of a production plant owned by Switzerland-based fertiliser manufacturer EuroChem. According to a government press release, EuroChem’s ‘Complexo Mineroindustrial’ in Minas Gerais has received US$1bn in investment and is the company’s first mining facility outside of Europe. In his speech at the inauguration event, Lula said that Brazil needs to stop depending on imported fertilisers if it wants to be the “granary of the world”. The government estimates that the Complexo Mineroindustrial will provide 1m tonnes (t) per year of phosphate fertilisers for domestic use. The urgency to produce more fertiliser comes amid an expected annual drop in Brazil’s grain harvest this year due to less favourable climate conditions. On 12 March the national statistics institute (Ibge) projected the national production figure for grains, cereals, legumes, and oilseeds to total 300.7m t in 2024, which would mark a decrease of 4.7% from 2023.