"Against the backdrop of a buoyant global food trade, the battle for cereals is intensifying. Brazil, where soybean exports have surpassed the United States, has become the main battlefield, and the Chinese are pressing closer. ”

——"Island Country Economic News"

"Mitsubishi Corporation's privatization of the Brazilian trading company GCB is blocked!"

"Mitsui's plan to expand soybeans in Brazil went bankrupt due to a super weed outbreak!"

"China Jiagu and international grain merchant Bunge have joined forces to take the lead in the development of Brazil's northbound transportation and logistics!"

The news of the war for the grain trade coming back from Brazil to the island nation is not only bad news, but also bad news.

From the perspective of the grain industry of the island countries, Brazil, which has signed a migration agreement with the island countries, and Brazil, which has about 1.5 million Japanese expatriates and Japanese descent, have a leading advantage in the grain merchants of the island countries.

And that's exactly what happened.

After the Brazilian government tightened restrictions on foreign access to agricultural land, grain traders in the island countries have built large farms in Brazil, either on their own or in partnership, and although they are not as powerful as American multinational grain producers, they are already far ahead of other investors.

It's just that Jiagu explained to them what it means to "win first and not win", and what it means that "those who are good at fighting have no outstanding achievements".

The strong purchasing power of the Chinese market makes the island grain merchants, who are "relatively small" but picky about quality and price, particularly vulnerable, and Jiagu easily overtakes the latter with its "killer feature" against super weed herbicides.

Qi Zheng, who is in Brazil, can clearly understand this, although Brazil is friendly with the island country, but it does not mean that China has to fight against each other. On the contrary, in South America, whether it is Brazil or Argentina, they are getting closer and closer to China – and their national fortunes will be linked to us in the future.

In fact, the more familiar he is with Brazil, the more Qi Zheng knows that even if there is no "killer feature", Jiagu will also have support for joining the soybean competition in Brazil.

Quite simply, in Brazil's resource-exporting economy, the activity of foreign capital occupies a central position. But the concentration of food suppliers is the most frightening threat to the economy and food security. So the Brazilian government is also encouraging local companies and multinational giants other than the big four grain merchants to join the race for grain.

The islanders' previous "smooth sailing" in Brazil was largely due to this, and in the case of China's Jiagu, which is also strong in capital and technology, the leading edge of Japanese grain merchants is not enough.

In addition to "mixing sand" with local grain merchants in Brazil to curb the expansion of Japanese grain merchants, Jiagu International has integrated the transportation fleet attached to the acquisition of Brazilian sugar factories and the Brazilian assets acquired by Gao Hong of the United States, and has also directly signed soybean procurement contracts with soybean farmers by providing relatively preferential loans to soybean farmers.

Then, Qi Zheng saw the "slash-and-burn" of Brazilians.

Brazil has a 4,400-kilometre National Highway 163 that runs from the rainforest to the Amazon River, connecting soybean producing areas with the world's arteries, where soybeans are transported by trucks every day.

Qi Zheng and Zhong Huazhi drive in a convoy to a small town in the Amazon rainforest that has sprung up for growing soybeans.

"Brazil's domestic capital is relatively scarce, financing costs are high, soybean farmers basically rely on foreign loans to solve the problem of seeds, fertilizers and other means of production input, whether it is the four major grain merchants, or Japanese grain merchants, or us, the control of Brazilian soybean farmers is mainly through loans. Zhong Huazhi said eloquently.

Qi Zheng bowed slightly.

None of the parties have lent less than 10% to Brazilian soybean farmers, and the interest rate is usually written in the contract to be repaid in soybeans. Therefore, multinational grain merchants are a few profitable, and no matter how big the soybean farmers are, they all work for multinational grain merchants with strong financial strength.

If the acquisition of local Brazilian grain merchants and the joint investment in logistics terminals with Bunge are "open disputes", and the control of individual farmers is a "secret struggle".

This is the silent smoke of gunpowder: In order to ensure the supply of goods, the four major grain merchants do not hesitate to go to court against peasant households who violate their contracts; in order to attract peasant households, the head of the trading company personally invites the large peasant households to dinner, and the purchase price proposed is higher than that of the four major grain merchants; in order to establish its own purchasing channels, Jiagu International also has to find a place where it can gain a foothold under the control of intertwined interests......

Most of the southern Brazil farms are small, soybean cultivation history is long, so there are many cooperatives, soybean farmers sell beans relatively more autonomously, not a latecomer like Jiagu International can force a breakthrough, but in the central and western regions is different, soybean planting history is short, many farmers do not even have warehouses, can only cooperate with large grain merchants.

The destination of the two of them is such a "new" area.

As soon as he got out of the car, Qi Zheng gasped.

At the edge of the rainforest, a line of fire was advancing into the depths of the dense forest, and the smoke was rising, and the ground was scorched black.

On the other side of the planet, China is planting trees, while on the other side of the planet, Brazil is causing vast tracts of rainforest to disappear.

Seeing Qi Zheng frowning, Zhong Huazhi, who often runs around in Brazil, turned a blind eye: "BOSS, can't you get used to it? In Brazil, this is really a routine operation." ”

"It's the dry season, and the big agricultural companies are accustomed to using the 'tree-down-fire' method of clearing roots and animals, driving away local herders who lack legal title and potential indigenous people on the reserve, which is far more efficient and cheaper than other methods that seem 'safer', with burnt ash fertilizing the land, and roads along the route acting as a natural ......fire barrier," Zhong said.

He said it lightly, but Qi Zheng instantly remembered the "Amazon fire" that became the focus of global news a few years later.

At that time, "praying for the Amazon" became a hot topic on various social media, but today, it seems that the so-called "news" that caused the "heartache" of the world media at that time has never stopped being staged here.

Zhong Huazhi told Qi Zheng that since '09, the average annual Amazon has burned about 11,000 square kilometers — equivalent to burning Denmark every four years.

Qi Zheng can give a basket of the importance of the Amazon rainforest, and ironically, he can't say anything condemning it now.

Just because there is no position at all!

Jiagu is still buying soybeans from Brazil on a large scale, China is digesting soybeans from Brazil on a large scale, and even as long as the world needs soybeans, the rainforests that have survived for 65 million years will not stop being converted into soybean farmland.

Of course, this is absolutely not China's responsibility.

Every way that modern Brazil finds to grow its economy, every commodity it exports – soybeans, corn, beef, iron ore, etc. – is at odds with the Amazon rainforest.

Mine more iron ore, cut more wood, grow more crops, and pave more roads...... Behind all of this is a powerful drive of interests – not just the interests of Brazilians, but also the interests of Western capital. In other words, no one is innocent.

Brazilians don't care, either.

For example, the soybean farmers who came to greet Jiagu and his party often own thousands of hectares of farms and are constantly expanding. They didn't glance at the burning forest, but held the plump beans in the palm of their hands, and enthusiastically sold to Qi Zheng, Zhong Huazhi and others: "The soybeans we grow are delicious when eaten raw, and it's a pity that soybeans are not grown on such land......

Zhong Huazhi also calmly negotiated with them about the loan interest rate, signed a sole purchase right agreement, etc., as for praying for Amazon? What the hell is that?

Similarly, Qi Zheng had no interest in preaching.

In the economy-driven development of the Amazon rainforest, Jiagu is an insider, if not a direct promoter, and although "being a bitch and erecting a monument" is the true nature of a qualified capitalist, it does not mean that Qi Zheng likes to do so.

Looking at the rainforest that is still burning but no one pays attention to it, he just secretly sighed that the revitalization of domestic soybeans is not only related to the domestic soybean self-sufficiency rate, and the high yield potential of "Jiadou No. 13" is not only to alleviate the edible oil and meat needs of 1.3 billion people, but also to know how much of the Amazon rainforest, which is related to the global climate, has been saved.

......

On the other side of the world, Gui Province, China.

The sugare farmers looked at the soaring soybean production in the sugarcane fields of "sugarcane + mid-early soybean" promoted by Jiagu, and they didn't care about the destruction of the Rausch rainforest far away in the sky, and they only had ecstasy in their hearts - follow Jiagu to have meat to eat!

......