Industry to have US$ 187.5 million to store juice
DCI
The Secretary of Agricultural Policy of the Ministry of Agriculture, José Carlos Vaz, confirmed yesterday the Government will allocate a new R$ 300 million (US$ 187.5 million) line for the industries of orange juice to buy the fruit to be processed for the storage of the beverage in 2011/2012 harvest. As the Minister of Agriculture, Wagner Rossi, said to the DCI, to operate the line the companies will have to buy the fruit for the reference price of R$ 10 (US$ 6.25) per box of 40.8 kg and sell the stocks formed in one year.
With the measure, the productive sector estimates to stock up to 240 thousand tons of concentrated and frozen juice, or nearly 20% of the annual exports of 1.2 million t. As Brazil controls 60% of the world market of the drink and exports 98% of the production, the withdrawal of the volume in one year may pull the price of the juice and, consequently, of the fruit.
Each of the four large orange processors - Cutrale, Citrosuco/Fischer, Citrovita and Louis Dreyfus - will have up to R$ 80 million (US$ 50 million) in resources to buy the fruit at an interest of 6.75% a year. The industry that asked for R$ 400 million (US$ 250 million) in funds, managed, at least, to be benefited by the interest rate. The negotiation was for only R$ 30 million (US$ 18.75 million) per company to be released at an interest rate of 6.75% and the rest with interest of the market, at 12.25% a year.
The operation for the financing of stocks of juice, after detailed, will still have to pass the vote of the National Monetary Council (CMN), whose monthly meeting is scheduled for the next June 30. Nevertheless, the Government will neither interfere on the sale of the stored beverage nor on the profit expected to be split between the industry and producers.