Brasília, 24 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Yesterday minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Sérgio Amaral, met with the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Anne Krueger, and explained the Brazilian position with regard to US protectionism in the farm sector.

Amaral showed Krueger a series of studies proving that Brazilian agricultural production has become more competitive than American production. For example, one of the studies showed that whereas it costs an American farmer US$229 to harvest a ton of soybeans, a Brazilian farmer can now do the same for US$112. Another example is chicken, where an American poultry farmer spends around US$1.40 to produce a kilogram of meat, and a Brazilian poultry farmer spends US$0.49 per kilogram. (AB)