Brazil: The cassava production chain returns to discuss the addition of starch to wheat

Published 2022년 5월 11일

Tridge summary

The article explores the ongoing debate in Brazil about the use of cassava starch in breadmaking flour, driven by the need to reduce the country's wheat imports due to global supply issues like the war between Russia and Ukraine, which has significantly increased wheat prices. This debate, which resurfaced in the early 2000s and gained traction with the late deputy Aldo Rebelo's proposals to include cassava starch in bread, has found renewed interest due to the current crisis. The research by Joselito Motta and the ongoing legislative efforts, such as a bill proposed by deputy Elcione Barbalho in 2009, aim to legalize the use of cassava starch in bread, thereby improving nutritional content, reducing reliance on imported wheat, and creating new job opportunities. However, the proposal faces resistance due to the perceived diminution of bread's quality and the concerns about wheat's high gluten content and health effects.

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Original content

The addition of cassava starch in wheat flour for breadmaking has been discussed again within the root production chain. The issue has gained prominence since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began on February 24. The war raised the price of wheat to the highest level in 14 years in the first month of the conflict. In two weeks wheat rose more than 30%. The reflection Brazilians feel in the price of bread. In just over a month of conflict, the price of a kilo of bread was readjusted between 12% and 20% in the country, according to a survey by the Brazilian Association of the Bakery and Confectionery Industry (ABIP). The spike in wheat prices is no accident. Russia and Ukraine are at the top of the wheat chain, the first as the largest global exporter of the commodity, while Ukraine is in fourth position. Together, the two countries export around 210 million tons of grain, 30% of world trade. The president of the Brazilian Association of Cassava Starch Producers (ABAM), ...

Source: Abam