Brazilian agriculture to see weak recovery

The primary sector, which for the most part doesn't comprise downstream production of goods such as soybean oil, processed meat, cigarettes or refined sugar, accounted for 4.7% of Brazil's 4.143 trillion-real ($2.004 trillion) nominal GDP in 2011.

Economists at Santander said this week the weak number for agriculture in the first three months of the year--largely the result of a drought that hurt Brazil's all-important soybean crop--probably shaved about 0.5 percentage point off quarterly GDP growth.