Brazil inks new deals to sell to Australia, Costa Rica

Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock reported that the government of Australia has approved the import of fish from Brazil, while the government of Costa Rica has given the go-ahead for products based on mesenchymal stem cells for therapeutic purposes. The two markets are said to come in addition to 11 others opened this year, bringing the total to 91 since the beginning of last year.

“These openings should help increase trade flows with these two major markets and reaffirm international confidence in Brazil’s sanitary control system,” the ministry reported.

The statement described Costa Rica as a key destination for Brazilian agricultural products—which totaled 272 million dollars in exports in 2023. The main items were cereals, flour and its preparations, forestry products, and soy complex products. In January of this year alone, agricultural exports to Costa Rica amounted to some 30 million dollars.

Brazil exported agribusiness products worth $293 million to Australia in 2023—chief among them coffee, forestry products, animal goods, and juices, adding up to 74 percent of total Brazilian agricultural sales to that country. In 2024, exports of agricultural products to the Australian market have surpassed $24 million.