What is Brazil’s potential to produce food and energy?
Expectations are positive for food production in the upcoming years. Brazil has areas available for this purpose, particularly in pasture areas. Farmers are currently reaping a record harvest, and sales and prices are good, something that also helps boost investments in technology. So far as energy is concerned, a survey published this month by the Empresa de Pesquisa Energtica (EPE) shows that sugarcane derivates, such as ethanol, have surpassed hydroelectric plants to become, in 2007, Brazil’s second biggest source of energy, with sugarcane derivates accounting for 16% of the energy matrix, while hydroenergy accounted for 14.7%. Oil and its derivatives, still the leading source of energy in Brazil, is down from 37.8% in 2006 to 36.7% in 2007. These figures show an increasing trend towards a greater participation of renewable energy in Brazil’s energy matrix.
