Brasilia

Chairs for the day: Stephanie Walker Spiros and Keith Soltwedel on a SLC John Deere combine during a break from harvest on the Schneider Logemann Farm in Brazil ( for information on SLC, see day 13).
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 Departing the hotel in Ribeirao Preto at 7:45 a.m., we began the final leg of our journey to Brasilia via yet another bus transfer and two flights. Original plans were changed when our direct flight to Brasilia was canceled, so we were forced to re-route through Sao Paulo and take one extra flight.
  We were met in Brasilia by our guide, Rolland, who informed us of Brasilia’s infrastructure, history, and culture. Brasilia is the youngest capital in the world, approximately 30 years old, and is designed in the shape of an airplane, with the commercial section situated in the wings and the cockpit serving as the governmental center. Seventy percent of Brasilia’s population are government employees. Highlights of the brief city tour included a trip up the communications tower located in the center of the city for a panoramic city view.
The U.S. embassy was our next stop. Here we were greeted and led through security by Agricultural Attaché Leslie O’Connor. Once inside the embassy, our briefing began with a political summary of Brazil by Alex Featherstone. Similar to the other Latin America countries that we have visited, poverty and crime plague Brazil. Embassy officials feel the upcoming election should help improve these situations. Democratic rule in Brazil has been very important as the government works to make the technological advancements necessary to advance their economy.
 

Brasilia
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Peter Gazinski, Secretary of the Economic Division, outlined the economic status of Brazil. His brief discussion concentrated on five points:
  The Brazilian economy makes up more then one half of South America’s total GDP but it also has the most unequal income distribution in the world.
  Next, Mark Tadeu, Senior Commercial Officer discussed the commercial aspects of Brazil. The majority of Brazil’s imports are capital equipment/machinery (necessary for all of the factories being built). Brazil’s top exports are coffee, tobacco and soybeans. The four major growth areas on the commercial side are: telecom systems, energy/utilities, transportation systems, and environmental protection systems.
  Our final speakers, Finn Rudd, Agricultural Counselor and Leslie O’Connor, Agricultural Attaché, discussed agricultural issues in Brazil. U.S. exports to Brazil are low when compared to Brazil’s total imports. This highlighted the need to increase agricultural exports to South America, especially Brazil. "Fast Track" negotiating authority for the President was stressed as one way to improve this situation, so please continue contacting your local representatives to support "Fast Track"!!
  During 1997, 23 percent of the coffee and tobacco that the United States imported was from Brazil. U.S. exports to Brazil last year were soybeans, cotton, livestock genetics and planting seeds. U.S. farmers exported a record amount of soybeans to Brazil last year; Brazil needed additional soybeans to keep their soybean crushing operations in production.
  Our agricultural discussion closed with a brief discussion about the undeveloped Brazilian frontier, or Cerrados region. Only 25 percent of this potential farm ground is currently being utilized. Many of the progressive farmers in the developed southern region are selling their property and purchasing 20-40 times more property in the Cerrados region. The potential for dramatic increases in Brazilian soybean production will significantly change the world soybean market, impacting United States agriculture as well.
  After checking into our hotel, we had the opportunity to visit a local jeweler for a showing of Brazilian gems. A few gems were purchased to bring back home, and the jeweler closed his doors that evening a very happy man. The balance of the evening was on our own, and the group broke up into several segments to enjoy dinner Brazilian style.

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