Brazil

• [New] Following identification of a new variant of coronavirus in Brazil, the Scottish Government will impose additional restrictions on all arrivals from South America, as well as several countries with strong travel links to affected countries.
• [New] Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech have already struck deals with the South African government to supply one million doses of vaccines and Bharat Biotech has announced that it will be supplying vaccines to Brazil.
• [New] Talks between Brazil's Fiocruz biomedical center and the Serum Institute of India to ship finished doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are well advanced, with delivery expected in mid-January.
• [New] In other high-income countries - as well as in countries like China, Brazil, India and Russia that are producing or manufacturing vaccines at scale - mass vaccinations will begin in 2021 but likely continue into early 2022.
• [New] Brazil was due to start implementing rules last month and Mexico is expected to follow suit in 2021.
• [New] Brazil's environment ministry said this week it set a new goal to zero out carbon dioxide emissions by 2060 or sooner - if it can raise $10 billion a year from other countries.
• [New] Another reason for the iron ore price boost is Australia's biggest mining rival, Brazilian miner Vale, has lowered its annual production guidance of iron ore for a third time in 2020 and set a smaller-than-anticipated production estimate for 2021.
• The biggest falls in GDP in 2020 in the major economies are predicted to be in Italy, Brazil, Germany and Spain.
• Brazil and Japan have been 'remarkably resilient' in the face of the pandemic in 2020, and are expected to recover to pre-pandemic volume consumption levels next year.
• S&P Global Ratings said in a report on Brazilian miner Vale it expects iron ore prices to average $US85 per tonne in 2021, and $US70 per tonne in 2022.
• Brazil's consumption of dicalcium phosphate is expected to grow 3.5% to 4.5% a year in the coming 15 years, while fertilizer demand should increase 3% to 4%.
• The fleet of four vessels, to be delivered through 2023, is expected to transport around 5m tonnes of iron ore a year from Anglo American's operations in Brazil and South Africa, with both U-Ming and Anglo American committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Ample supplies from Brazil, the US and Argentina will continue to put downward pressure on world and EU beef prices in the coming years.
• Countries such as Brazil and the US have pushed environmentally degrading policies in recent years, while markets such as the EU and South Korea have enacted plans for carbon neutrality by 2050.
• Stubbornly high inflation in Mexico may prevent further monetary policy easing, while we would not be surprised to see rate hikes in Brazil in 2021 to combat inflation.
• We find that in value terms, Brazil, Angola and South Africa would incur the largest cumulative loss of exports by 2030, amounting to up to USD14bn, USD5bn and USD2bn, respectively.
• The US$ 300 million financing package will help Indorama reach its goal of recycling 50 billion PET bottles globally a year by 2025 including in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, India, and Brazil.
• 2020 is undoubtedly a turning point for innovation, new opportunities and outlooks in the financial and payments sectors in Brazil over the coming years.
• With the gasoline demand the biggest casualty of the pandemic related lockdowns globally in terms of volumes, the IEA said it expects global ethanol production to drop almost 15% in 2020, mainly due to lower output in Brazil and the US.
• World cotton production is forecast to fall by 6 pc in 2020-21 to 24.7 Mt, largely due to area reductions in the United States, Pakistan, China and Brazil as farmers respond to low prices.
• Fitch expects Brazil's economy to rebound in 2021, due to a global economic recovery, strong growth in China (its main trading partner) and a competitive local currency.
• Stronger economic growth in Brazil could lead to more domestic meat consumption and more domestic use of feedstuffs such as corn and soybean meal.

Last updated: 19 January 2021