June 23, 2006

Brazil to auction 700,000 tonnes of soy Jun 30

Brazil's government said Thursday (Jun 22) that it will auction 700,000 tonnes of soybeans on Jun 30.

Brazil included soy in its government auction programme in May for the first time in history. A weak US dollar, high farm overhead costs, and local soy prices below the cost of production led the government to include soy in the federal farm commodities purchasing programmes last month.

The government's new programme is similar to the minimum price guarantee programmes in the US. The minimum price will be set on Jun 28 for a 60-kilogramme bag of soybeans. The National Commodities Supply Corp (Conab) said it would publish the rules for the new auction on Jun 27.