Brazil says the U.S. agricultural bill will cost Brazil's soybean industry $5.3 billion

Lead: Reuters Brazil March 18, 2002: Brazil's National Agricultural Association (CNA) said that the subsidies planned in the new US agricultural act (2002 / 2005) will cost Brazil's soybean industry 5.29 billion US dollars in the next four years Antonio donizeti Beraldo, head of cna's foreign trade department, said at an Agricultural Outlook Forum that if the U.S bill was passed under the current terms, Brazil's soybean farmers' losses in 2002 would increase by a third compared with the previous year, to $1.59 billion The loss will be mainly due to the U.S subsidies for exported soybeans, resulting in a drop in soybean prices Cna's estimate is based on the difference between the average soybean price in the international market of $158 per ton and the normal price of $195 per ton without us subsidies This estimate also forecasts Brazil's soybean production of 43 million tons in 2002 The U.S agricultural bill, written every few years, includes agricultural product support provisions, anti hunger provisions, export provisions, rural development and agricultural research project provisions, and costs tens of billions of dollars every year Last month, Marcus Vinicius pratini de Moraes, Brazil's agriculture minister, said Brazil would soon appeal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) against us subsidies Pratini said the U.S soybean subsidy is equivalent to 20 to 25 percent of the cost of soybean production Brazil is the second largest soybean producer after the United States.