Japan's plans to provide broad support to Brazilian agriculture will be high on the agenda when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meets Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on his tour of five Latin American countries, sources said.
On the Brazil leg of his July 25 to Aug. 4 trip, Abe is set to offer help in improving infrastructure, including transportation networks for farm products and ports, so the emerging country, a major global food exporter, can further increase shipments, the sources said Saturday.
Brazil has been expanding output of corn and soybeans to meet growing global demand, but an inability rapidly expand its infrastructure to handle the increase in shipments has become an impediment.
Tokyo feels it's important to foster growth in Brazil's farm industry because it is the second-largest supplier of corn and soybeans to Japan and is needed to keep global food supplies stable, the sources said.
Under the Abe government's plan, Japanese firms would be able to participate more easily in infrastructure-building projects in Brazil.
For example, state-backed Nippon Export and Investment Insurance will provide insurance to Japanese banks providing loans for agricultural infrastructure-related projects in Brazil, the sources said. Meanwhile, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation will provide loans to Japanese companies engaged in agriculture infrastructure development in Brazil.
Tokyo also plans to form a consultative body covering the private and public sectors of both countries to pursue improvement in Brazil's shipment and transportation systems to spur greater exports, the sources said.