World Consumption and Production
What is demand?
Demand is the willingness and the ability to buy something.
List the countries involved in the major “triangle” of soybean trade.
United States, Brazil, and China
What is the main destination for soybeans exported from South America?
China
What is NPK?
Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K)
What is free trade?
Free trade is a market model in which trade in goods and services between or within countries flows without any restrictions imposed by the government
In which regions of the world will the population continue to grow the most?
Asia and Africa
When is the marketing year for soybeans and corn in the United States?
From September 1st to August 30th
What is the biome with the largest agricultural area in Brazil?
Cerrado (Brazilian savanna)
Which countries are the largest exporters of nitrogen-based products?
Russia, China, and Qatar
What are the main advantages of free trade?
Allows Specialization
Free trade allows specialization that helps promote greater productivity.
Free trade leads to stability and non-aggression leads to stability and non-aggression.
What are the regions with possibilities for agricultural expansion?
What is crushing in the soybean industry?
Crushing is a process that produces soybean meal and soybean oil
List at least two challenges for Brazilian agriculture to continue growing.
Transportation: Brazil is trying to reduce its dependence on trucks.
Storage: Crop production in Brazil outpaces storage capacity.
Indicate three of the technologies that caused agricultural yields to increase.
Seed genetics hybridization, Fertilizers, Chemical Pesticides, Biotechnology (GMO), etc.
List two trade agreements between countries.
European Union (EU)
US – Mexico – Canada Agreement (ex-Nafta)
Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay)
What are the three determinants of location of crops?
Geography, Quality of Land, and Climate/Weather.
What is ending stocks on a WASDE balance sheet?
Ending stocks are the holding of the inventory at the end of the year.
How is corn produced in Brazil (how many crops)? Which region of the country is the main area of corn production?
Brazil has three crops of corn per year.
More than half of corn production is concentrated in the Center-West as a second crop (called safrinha), planted right after the soybean harvest.
Who were the big 6 in the seed industry? And who are the big 4 now?
BIG 6: Bayer, Monsanto, Dow, Dupont, Syngenta, and BASF.
BIG 4: Bayer, Corteva, Syngenta, BASF.
What is WTO and when did China join it?
World Trade Organization (WTO)
China joined WTO in 2001.
List at least three of the five determinants that impact consumption demand.
What does acronyms PSD and WASDE mean?
Production, Supply and Distribution (PSD) and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE)
Why Brazil is likely to remain the world leader in soybean production?
Brazil has more arable land than any other country in the world.
Brazil has increased the planted area every year.
List at least two advantages and two disadvantages of M&A in the seed industry.
Advantages:
Economies of scale bring technological advancements.
Movement of genetics to all parts of the world
surplus grain production
Disadvantages:
The pricing of seed products has increased a lot
Anti-competitive tendencies by parties
Barriers to entry are supreme
List two mechanisms that act as barriers to trade.
* Sanitary and phytosanitary measures,
* Technical barriers of trade (labeling requirements)
* Agricultural subsidies