Sao Paulo | Reuters — International cannabis companies are showing interest in Brazil, both its large consumer market for medicinal products and a proposal that could legalize planting of the crop. Major producers such as Colombia’s Clever Leaves and Canada’s Canopy Growth are developing and selling medicinal cannabis products to a Brazilian consumer segment estimated […] Read more

Cannabis firms catch whiff of opportunity in Brazil
Canadian producers among those now supplying Brazilian market

Corteva launches Brazil biotech soy, tackles Bayer head-on
Sao Paulo | Reuters – Corteva Agriscience said on Aug. 9 it will start selling biotech soybean seeds in Brazil, as it seeks to bolster its presence in the world’s largest producer of the oilseed and tackle German rival Bayer AG. Corteva said its Enlist soybean seeds can resist three weed killers including glyphosate, ammonium […] Read more

JBS profit bolstered by weak currency, strong Chinese and U.S. markets
China became third largest beef export market for JBS Canada, company says
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Meat processor JBS SA’s fourth-quarter profit rose 65 per cent from a year earlier, boosted by strong food sales in China and the U.S. and a sharp devaluation of Brazil’s real currency, the company said in a securities filing on Wednesday. For full-year 2020 its profit was 4.6 billion reais, […] Read more

JBS pledges net zero greenhouse emissions by 2040
Sao Paulo | Reuters — JBS SA, the world’s largest meatpacker, has committed to zeroing the balance of its global greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, the company said on Tuesday, amid criticism of its role in a Brazilian beef industry driving rainforest destruction. “We know it is very difficult to achieve this,” CEO Gilberto Tomazoni […] Read more

JBS gears up for U.S. and Brazil expansions
Brazilian meat giant reiterates plans following strong Q3 results
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Food processor JBS SA reiterated plans to grow production capacity in Brazil and in the United States after posting strong third quarter results, executives said in a conference call to discuss earnings on Thursday. CEO Gilberto Tomazoni said 12 of the company’s plants in Brazil were being expanded, as JBS […] Read more

JBS to seek damages from founders
Brazil shareholder vote a win for Brazil's BNDES
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Shareholders in JBS SA on Friday cleared the way for the Brazilian food processor to sue its own controlling stakeholders and certain former managers, a rare victory for shareholder activism in Latin America’s largest economy. The vote was a win for JBS’s top minority shareholder, national development bank BNDES, which […] Read more

JBS to resume U.S. share listing plan after COVID-19 fallout
Management looking also for US$100 million in cost cuts
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil’s JBS SA is reviving plans to list shares on Wall Street after dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic’s fallout, CEO Gilberto Tomazoni said on Friday, as the world’s largest meatpacker reported strong quarterly results. Speaking on a conference call with analysts following the company’s second-quarter results, Tomazoni said the focus […] Read more

JBS invests $19-million in safety measures amid COVID-19 pandemic
Sao Paulo | Reuters –Brazilian food processor JBS SA has invested more than 100 million reais ($19.3 million) in health, safety and contingency measures at all its Brazilian production units, according to a Wednesday company statement that comes as the novel coronavirus continues to ravage local meat plants. The company said the funds were invested […] Read more

JBS sees steady trade flows but flags export woes
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil’s JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker, has said the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic could cause container shortages, port disruptions and other logistics issues, but said trade flows should stay strong thanks to Chinese demand. In a conference call to discuss earnings results on Thursday, JBS executives said its export operations had […] Read more

Dreyfus to cut costs amid trade jitters, swine fever
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Agricultural commodities giant Louis Dreyfus Co. (LDC) has launched a cost-cutting and reorganization drive in the face of difficulties confronting global trading houses, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday. LDC confirmed the memo’s authenticity in a statement, saying the company aimed to optimize its cost base […] Read more