STATE TRADING
NEW AND FULL NOTIFICATION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE XVII:4(A)
OF THE
GATT 1994 AND PARAGRAPH 1 OF THE UNDERSTANDING ON
THE INTERPRETATION OF ARTICLE XVII
Brazil
The
following notification, dated and received on 28 June 2024, is being circulated
at the request of the delegation of Brazil.
_______________
Pursuant to Article XVII:4(a)
of the GATT 1994 and paragraph 1 of the Understanding on the Interpretation of
Article XVII of the GATT 1994, and in response to the call for notifications
contained in document G/STR/N/20, Brazil makes the following
notification for the years 2022-2023.
I. Enumeration of state trading enterprises
A. Identification
of state trading enterprises
Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento (Conab
– National Company for Food Supply).
B. Description of products affected (including
tariff item number(s) encompassed in product description)
Agricultural
Products (commodities).
II. Reason and purpose
A. Reason
or purpose for establishing and/or maintaining state trading enterprise
The
company's mission is to provide intelligence on agriculture and livestock and
to participate in the formulation and
execution of public policies, contributing to the regularity of food supply and
to the provision of income to rural
producers. The enterprise maintains regular and grain warehouses in the different regions of Brazil, with
the aim of stocking agricultural products and ensuring food supply
to the population.
Conab
offers detailed and updated information on the national production in
agriculture and livestock, by
collecting data on forecasts of harvests, costs of production and stockholding,
stock positioning and market
indicators, besides technical studies on supply of and demand for relevant products, among other data. Its studies
and research, as well as information on the company's initiatives, are publicly available in its institutional website
and allow for the general diffusion of data and information.
B. Summary of legal basis for granting the
relevant exclusive or special rights or privileges, including legal provisions
and summary of statutory or constitutional powers
Companhia Nacional
de Abastecimento (Conab – National Company for Food Supply) is a public federal
enterprise of private
law with its headquarters in Brasília, linked to the Ministry of Agriculture,
Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA). The company was created by means of Law n° 8.029, of April 12th, 1990.
Its activities started on January
1st, 1991.
Its administrative
bodies are the Administration Council (Consad), Fiscal Council (Confis) and the Board of Directors. Consad is presided by
the Executive-Secretary of MAPA and is composed by the President-Director of Conab, up to three representatives from
MAPA and one from the Ministry of Economy.
Confis, Conab's supervision body, is composed by three effective members and
their alternates: one from the
National Treasury; and two from MAPA, appointed by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply after
approval from the President of Brazil. The board of Directors is composed
of the Company's President and its
Directors.
III. Description of the functioning of the state
trading enterprise
A. Summary
statement providing overview of operations of the state trading enterprise
The Social Statute
of Conab, in its object and social goals, provides
for the following initiatives:
·_
formation of regulatory and strategic stocks
to absorb surpluses
and correct imbalances resulting from speculation;
·_
planning, regulating
and executing the Federal Government's Policy for Ensurance
of Minimum Prices;
·_
implementing
other instruments for support of
prices in agriculture and livestock;
·_
developing actions
of foreign trade,
according to directives from the Ministry
of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA) and to legislation related to the Chamber of Foreign Trade (Camex);
·_
under normal
circumstances, the private sector is in charge of imports and exports of agricultural products. Conab's commercial activities related to stock moving are conditioned to authorization from MAPA
and, when required, from Camex. All these activities,
when authorized, are conducted by means of electronic tenders with market prices
and, therefore, no distortion is caused.
B. Specification of exclusive or special rights
or privileges enjoyed by the state trading enterprise
Conab
holds no special right or privilege to export, import, buy or sell agricultural
products. Conab is a federal public
company of private law, which operates under market conditions just as private companies
do. It is granted
no privilege from government.
C. Type of entities other than the state trading
enterprise that are allowed to engage in importation/exportation and conditions
for participation
Any
import, export, purchase or sale of agricultural commodities in Brazil may be
freely conducted by private agents, without any restriction.
D. How
import/export levels are established by the state trading enterprise
During
the period covered by this notification, Conab has not imported or exported any
agricultural product.
E. How
export prices are determined
Does
not apply (see III.D).
F. How
the resale prices of imported products are determined
Does not apply
(see III.D).
G. Whether
long term contracts are negotiated by the state trading enterprise. Whether the
state trading enterprise is used to fulfil contractual obligations entered into
by the government.
Does
not apply.
H. Brief
description of market structure
Operations
in the market of agricultural products are conducted by private, independent
buyers and sellers.
IV. Statistical information
Does
not apply. No foreign trade has taken place.
V. Reason why no foreign trade has taken place
During
the period covered by this notification, Conab has not imported or exported
agricultural products because such operations have not been necessary to
accomplish its institutional mission.
VI. Additional information
No additional information.
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