April 2, 2008

 

Brazil March soy exports up on month to 1.4 million tonnes

 

 

Brazil soy exports rose in March to 1.4 million tonnes as the new 2007-08 crop entered its harvest period, the Foreign Trade Ministry reported Tuesday.

 

Soy export volume is up on the month but down on the year.

 

Brazil shipped 425,100 tonnes of soy to world markets in February and 2 million tonnes in March of last year.

 

Average prices paid for Brazilian soy in March were US$400.10 per tonne, down from US$437.90 in March.

 

Soymeal exports rose to 766,300 tonnes in March, up from 662,300 last month but down from the 992,400 shipped out last March.

 

Soy oil exports totaled 88,800 tonnes, down from the 114,500 in February and 156,700 in March 2007.

 

Analysts and agronomists said that the country¡¯s soy crop is progressing well this week and should reach over 60 million tonnes.

 

Agronomist Gabriel Pesciallo of agricultural Consultancy AgRural said Brazil will harvest around 63 million tonnes in 2007-08 compared to 59 million tonnes in 2006-07.

 

Delays in Rio Grande do Sul, the third largest soy state in Brazil, will not impact the overall size of the Brazilian soy crop, said Pesciallo.

 

AgRural estimated that on March 31 Brazil had harvested 55 percent of its soy crop compared to 70 percent in the same period last year.

 

The consultancy said that Rio Grande do Sul had harvested only 10 percent this week compared to 30 percent last year, while Mato Grosso the largest soy producer has completed 90 percent of this harvest.