September 25, 2013

Brazil remains top soy exporter to China

According to figures from China's customs department, Brazil is still the biggest exporter of soy to the country, with US producers falling behind.

From January to August, China bought 41 million tonnes, which was an on-year rise of 4.4%. Brazilian producers supplied 23.9 million tonnes or 58% of the total. This amount was an on-year increase of 20.1%.

While Brazil benefitted from a record harvest of over 80 million tonnes, the US' soy stocks are at an all-time low following a weak harvest in 2011-12, which meant that they sold just 12.5 million tonnes of soy to China between January and August, an on-year drop of 18.6%.

China imported 6.4 million tonnes of soy in August, with Brazil providing 5.1 million tonnes, or 82.2% more than in August 2012. Sales by the US in the same month fell by 99.6%.

Brazilian producers expect to export 40.5 million tonnes in the period from February 2013 and January 2014. Between January and August, they had sold 37.1 million tonnes.

According to the USDA's estimates, Brazilian farmers harvested approximately 3.012-billion bushels of soy this year. That comes in just under last year's US soy harvest of about 3.015-billion bushels. United Soy Board Farmer-Director, David Iverson, a soy farmer in South Dakota says that the increased quantity could affect the global soy marketplace. He added that the larger Brazilian supply could negatively impact the price US farmers receive.