Brazil is to move away from the Mercosur trade bloc and will seek to reach bilateral trade agreements in the years ahead, according to a state official in one of its largest grain-producing states.

Eduardo Riedel, who is state secretary of government in Mato Grosso do Sul, said the last decade was “wasted time” for Brazil in terms of opening new global markets for trade.

“Brazil will seek to do more trade negotiations on its own in the future and move away from Mercosur,” said Riedel, who was speaking at the 2017 Nuffield Contemporary Scholars Conference (CSC).

Riedel said the Mercosur trade bloc had put a lot of energy into negotiations but Brazil would not wait any longer for the trade bloc to deliver.

“I think Brazil will have a new policy on going for bilateral trade agreements and try to see in a different manner the trade policy,” he said.