The story of Brazilian agriculture is one of innovation, sustainability, and bringing together a vast and fragmented supply chain. A trade deal between the EU and a block of South American countries — the EU-Mercosur deal — will force the country to bring that supply chain closer together through investments, technology, and cross-sector collaboration.
The topic of Brazil’s post-farmgate supply chain and how it can capitalize on the EU- Mercosur deal was the focus of the opening panel on the second day of the 2026 edition of the World Agri-Tech São Paulo conference, June 23-24.
The panel included Ricardo Nascimbeni, VP of supply chain ag and trading for LatAm at Cargill; Carolina Hernandez Tascon, chief strategy officer at VLI Logistica; and Igor Figueiredo, director of new business and commercial technology at Rumo and was moderated by Ryan Daily, Americas editor at AgNavigator.
In recent years, Brazilian infrastructure investments were “very unbalanced,” with capital flowing to southern ports to capitalize on Chinese trade opportunities, Hernandez Tascon explained.
“The demand push for the past years was coming from China. We had a lot of developments in the southern, southeast region of Brazil, specifically Santos. … The north has been a different story, even though we’ve had developments in the port of Barcarena, even though we’ve had developments in the port of São Luís,” Hernandez Tascon elaborated.
The EU-Mercosur deal is “a game changer,” providing “a lot of comfort in terms of demand forecast for [VLI] to be brave enough to start investing in developing more rapidly the northern arc,” she added.
Historically, greenfield investments in Brazil have been hard to get off the ground due to regulatory constraints, which require social and environmental licenses that often complicate projects, Nascimbeni noted.
While challenging to invest in infrastructure, Brazil has made strides in boosting its supply chain capacity, including Rumo adding 162 kilometres of rail in the state of Mato Grosso, Figueiredo said. Mato Grosso is the premier soybean-growing state in Brazil and a key driver of agricultural growth.
“If you look back 10 years ago in Brazil, the logistics [were crazier] than nowadays. So, we’ve done a lot, and you have to look back to look forward and see what happened and what worked,” Figueiredo added.
Can tech make Brazil’s logistics more efficient?
Across the post-farmgate supply chain, stakeholders are turning to – and investing in – technologies that can improve logistics and preparing Brazil for opportunities with the EU-Mercosur deal.
Brazil’s agricultural logistical network is “still very inefficient and dependent on trucks,” which can be costly and challenging, Hernandez Tascon noted. This is creating an opportunity to invest in technology, like truck platforms and scheduling systems, she added.
Additionally, VLI is investing in semi-automated driving systems for its locomotives, which turn trains off during periods of prolonged idling. Technological advancements are helping logistics companies adjust pricing to more accurately reflect market conditions, Hernandez Tascon said.
“We have very sophisticated models, which use data and help us make sure that we’re being competitive enough and [ensure] that we’re bringing what the value chain needs in order to maximize exports,” she added.
Despite interest in AI and digital tools, organizations across the supply chain are struggling to focus their efforts on specific digital transformation goals and an overall strategy, which can bring about broader supply chain changes, Nascimbeni said. These requisite investments in data infrastructure (i.e., databases) and digital practices are crucial to capitalize on the potential of AI, he emphasized.
“I reach a lot of people in the market. Most of the companies are not getting ready for the age of intelligence. They don’t even take care of their data properly. Usually, data is spread out in different databases, different places, [and] not properly organized,” Nascimbeni elaborated.
