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Brazil may soon have a fix for one of its biggest agricultural shortcomings, a heavy dependence on fertilizer imports.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Toronto-based miner Brazil Potash Corp. is investing $2.5 billion to construct an underground potash mine near the town of Autazes, harnessing the Amazon Potash Basin. The report noted that Brazil imports around 90% of the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium it requires, mostly from Russia, a precarious source due to the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions.
The potash store was discovered by accident over a half-century ago when state oil company Petrobras was drilling for oil, the report said. The potash store stretches around 250 miles, running deep beneath the jungle. The Journal said production at the Autazes mine is estimated at 2.4 million tons a year, beginning in 2030. At that level of output, it would supply around a fifth of Brazil’s potash needs over the mine’s 30-year lifespan, the report said, noting that the basin overall holds enough deposits to allow Brazil to become nearly self-sufficient in potash.
U.S., Mexico talk biofuels cooperation
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Mexico’s energy minister talked about biofuels cooperation between the two countries in a meeting in Mexico City this week, BN Americas reported.
“We discussed opportunities for collaboration in the biofuels area in order to strengthen energy security and the sustainable development of both countries,” We discussed opportunities for cooperation in the biofuels area in order to strengthen energy security and the sustainable development of both countries,” Energy Minister Luz Elena Gonzalez Escobar said in a social media post after the Monday meeting, the report said. Mexico this year began developing a new regulatory framework designed to increase consumption of biofuels such as ethanol, the report noted.
Notable closes
The bleeding continues in the cattle complex. Live and feeder cattle futures markets saw heavy technical selling before locking down the daily trading limit. Price action this week has seen bearish downside “breakouts” from pennant patterns that formed on the daily bar charts for both markets.