IT is still harvest season in Mato Grosso, Brazil, but farmer Eleonor Ogliari is already reserving corn seeds from the China-Brasil Agriculture Science Industrial Park, ready for the next planting season.

Mato Grosso is the largest corn-producing state in Brazil, with an annual output of about 40 million tons of corn.

Since 2019, Ogliari has been planting corn varieties provided by Longping High-Tech Brazil, a Chinese-invested company owned by Longping Agriculture Science Co., Ltd. During this time, the planting area has expanded massively, now covering some 50,000 mu (3,330 hectares).

The industrial park where the seeds are stored was established in 2019 by Longping Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., with the aim of integrating emerging markets globally and a strong emphasis on BRICS countries.

With the corn varieties from Longping, the yield per mu exceeded 640 kg in 2021, bringing about 50 million yuan (US$7.4 million) in income, Ogliari said.

BRICS countries are important producers and consumers of agricultural products and play an important role in the global food system.

Ronnie Lins, director of the China-Brazil Center for Research and Business, said: “I highlight agricultural cooperation as one of the essential measures among the various discussion topics at the BRICS meeting.”

Hunan Province also established an international commerce platform in October 2019 to promote Hunan’s produce within Russia. Lei Shaoxiang, chairman of the platform’s operating company, said that the platform has established a cross-border e-commerce trading platform, built several standardized overseas warehouses, and organized its own logistics fleet.

As of the beginning of 2022, the export value of agricultural products of the platform’s partner enterprises had exceeded US$30 million. (Xinhua)