🚜 Brazilian agro and the Iran war

The escalation of the US-Israel war on Iran has sent shockwaves through the global economy, driven largely by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20% of the world's oil trade passes — and widespread disruptions to oil and natural gas supply chains. In Brazil, the surge in fossil fuel prices has hit the agricultural sector particularly hard, striking at two pressure points: diesel and fertilizers.

Brazil is in the middle of its harvest season, a period that demands diesel-powered farm machinery and trucks to transport products to buyers and ports. More than 60% of all cargo in Brazil is moved by road, and the country imports between 20% and 30% of the diesel it consumes.

With one eye on food prices and broader inflation — and another on October's presidential election, in which President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term — the government announced …

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