BRASILIA, March 10 (NNN-AGENCIA BRASIL) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that he might need to take bold measures to keep food prices from soaring, thus affecting consumers. He also blamed “robbers” for the high price of eggs nationwide.
“I want to find an explanation for the price of eggs,” he said. “The egg is getting out of control. Some say it is the heat, others say it is exportation, and I am behind [an explanation],” Lula said during an event in Campo do Meio, in the State of Minas Gerais.
The government wants to find a peaceful solution, “but if the people do not find it, the people will have to take more drastic attitudes, because what is important is to bring cheap food to the Brazilian people’s table,” he insisted.
“People do not want the producer to be prejudiced. What we need is to know that there is no middleman. Between the producer and the consumer, there must be many people who put their finger in the middle. And we are going to find out who is responsible for that,” he also warned.
Between January 2023 and January 2025, a box of eggs cost around R$ 140. In February this year, it rose to R$ 210, Lula noted. “I want to know whence that leap,” the President mentioned.
According to the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA), the high price of eggs is a “seasonal situation, common to the period before and during Lent [period in which some Christian communities prepare for Easter]”, when families usually substitute the consumption of red meat for eggs.
The association also mentioned the increase in production costs, such as the price of millet and packaging, and the “temperatures at historical levels”, which impact poultry productivity.
ABPA also said the market should normalize until the end of the Lent period, with the restoration of the consumption patterns of the various proteins. It added that, although at a high level, egg exports have practically no effect on the domestic supply since they represent less than 1% of the 59 billion units that should be produced this year.
On Feb 5, the federal government announced some measures to reduce food prices to the consumer, among them the reduction of import taxes on nine food items considered essential, such as coffee, cooking oil, sugar, millet, sunflower oil, sardines, biscuits, macaroni, and meats. The reduction of import tariffs on items will come into effect in the next few days after being approved by the Chamber of Foreign Trade (Camex).
“We will find a solution, because I am certain that in this country everyone is interested in the people being able to eat well. Quality food, healthy food, food, preferably organic food so that people can have quality of life. We, then, are very anxious, the entire government is concerned, there are many businessmen who are also concerned,” said Lula.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad forecast that food inflation should decrease in 2025, mainly influenced by the super-safra (harvest) predicted for this year. The minister added that the dollar’s fall should also help the inflationary deceleration.
“I believe that a series of products that are more expensive today will have their prices reduced with the entry of the safe-haven, which will be very expressive this year. It will be a super-harvest, contrary to last year,” he said in an interview.
“Last year’s harvest was not so good, it had a price increase. There was drought, there was flooding in Rio Grande do Sul, which affected rice production, there was drought in the Midwest, it affected other cultures, you had a problem with millet, which became expensive. The chicken eats millet, then the frank became expensive, the egg became expensive,” he added. — NNN-AGENCIA BRASIL
