January 8, 2007

Brazil to auction soy and corn this week

The Brazilian government is planning to hold soy auctions on Tuesday (Jan 9), and corn auctions on Thursday (Jan 11), the Agricultural Ministry said in an official statement.

A total of 4 million tonnes of soy will be offered in government soy auctions Tuesday to help guarantee minimum prices for the country's farmers.

Brazil's leading soy state of Mato Grosso will offer 1.34 million tonnes in each auction, while Mato Grosso do Sul will have 252,000 tonnes alloted per auction and Bahia will offer 120,000 tonnes per auction.

The government has already invested BRL194.3 million in soy auctions to help farmers in the sector sell soy for the 2006/07 harvest, said the Agricultural Ministry.

On Thursday, the government will also hold an auction to sell off roughly 180,000 tonnes of corn.

The government has also scheduled three upcoming soy auctions for Jan 16, Jan 23 and Jan 30.

Brazil is the world's no. 2 soy producer after the US.