A Real Brazilian Experience

Dominating the northeastern part of Parana state is a cooperative that makes up 272,000 Ha, more than 600,000 acres. (We are getting very good at quick conversion estimates, we've come to a consensus that the U.S. should just switch to the metric system). It is called Cocamar Cooperative and is the largest in Brazil. The 6100 members grow the primary commodities of corn, soybeans, wheat, coffee, and oranges. The characteristic that sets Cocamar apart from other cooperatives that we have visited, besides their size, is their value-added products. An interesting fact about Cocamar is the brand awareness that it has among consumers. It ranks number 4 in that catagory for the state of Parana, just behind Audi Cars. This is evident when you see their line of juices, coffee, and vegetable oil. We were privelaged to tour the juice plant and see how they turned local products from the cooperative and within the state into very high quality and tasty juices. We know this because we got to sample their entire line. About half were fruits that are native to Brazil or South America, and the rest were familiar flavors such as grape and orange. The difference was significant though. Cocamar's juice is much more pure, natural sweetness, than a sugary sweetness. A couple even had a smoothy like consistantcy that was really good to drink. We also were able to see their soy oil production plant. This product is the more popular one for Cocamar, and is distributed throughout Brazil as one of the top vegetable oils.

One interesting part about our visits to places like Cocamar is to hear their history, and how they came to be so successful amid a country that has had its struggles. From the time of the first Portuguese settlement a few centuries ago, until the 1990s, Brazil has had economic, social and political hardship that is almost a curse. With each new rise in a slightly different government, or leader, comes more of the same; a sustained and constant gap between the upper class and the lower class that is of epic proportions. During the first exploration of Brazil, in an effort to grab up as much land as possible, the Portuguese government gave away massive amounts to individuals, sometimes in excess of hundreds of thousands of hectares at a time. This created a few really rich people and everyone else has been in the lower class. Many things have changed, but this reality is still true; the economy, currency and financing have not been stable for most citizens. What does this have to do with coops and agriculture? Well, up until 1998, Brazil's currency was seeing hyperinflation that was hundreds of percents each year. New currencies were created at the rate of every few years and nobody had any confidence in the value of their currency. Such an economy cannot utilize its bountiful natural resources without foreign investment and multinational companies. But with the creation of the Real in 1998, and a strict, consice plan to turn the economy around, President Cardoso (one of the first democratically elected presidents of Brazil) was able to finally stimulate and produce like never before. This issue came up as we listened to the presentation at Cocamar. They mentioned that they were in the red in 1997-1998, but when they were finally able to sit down with the bank and reach a settlement, they calculated that the bank actually owed them money, an example to the uncertainty in finance and banking that was present. Today, Brazil is thriving like never before. We have talked with a dozen or so businesses, and I have asked many of them, how has the past year been for business, has there been growth or have things slowed done. The overall response is growth, ranging from 8% to 30% over the previous year. Brazil does have its "warts" as John Santos would say, but the overall vibe that we have gotten from our numerous visits is that, indeed, it is an exciting time to be involved in Brazilian agriculture and agribusiness.

The day ended sitting poolside under the Brazilian stars having a conversation about what we enjoyed most, and giving Nadial some feedback on what would make the trip better in the future. It was nice to look back on our whirlwind tour of Parana, and really gage the whole scope of everything we experienced. One observation that we had was just how well it was organized, and how much everything flowed perfectly. For instance, the part we enjoyed most, that Nadial suspected we would, was a few days after we had gotten over the jet lag, and into the Brazilian culture, and were therefore much more capable of having great conversations with the Terasawa family. Starting out with the port was perfect as well, each point after that related back to marketing and logistics, and when they mentioned Paranagua Bay, not only did we know where it was at, we got a boat tour of it and talked with a commercial manager there. Nadial gave us great proportions for each destination, not too much or little, just enough to really engage us the whole time we were touring. Traveling to Brazil is a quite a trip, and without a great tour guide like him, who not only knows the area, but used to work for and still does consulting with most of the companies we visited, is a special experience.

We have gone at it pretty hard for the last 8 days. Now, as our journey is coming to an end we are waking up bright and early in the morning to experience one of the world's natural wonders, Iguazzu Falls. Outside of about a day, it has been cloudy or raining for most of the trip. Although that might has dampened the mood elsewhere, we got through it, and perhaps tomorrow it could pay off. Like I mentioned in a previous post, Brazil's rivers don't flow to the ocean, but inland, and most in the area end up cascading over Iguazzu Falls, and that means that the river is going to be roaring at a high rate tomorrow. With a little luck, we might even get to use the sunshine that we have been putting in the bank for the past week.

All for now.