October 17, 2012

Brazil's corn industry continues to rise

Over the last 10 years, Brazil's production, demand and exports have grown rapidly.

According to figures by the US Grains Council, in the past 10 years corn production in Brazil has grown rapidly from 40 million tonnes (1.6 billion bushels) to 70 million tonnes (2.8 billion bushels). And with the expansion of the country's animal feeding industries (especially pork and poultry) domestic feed use has also seen a rise. It has climbed steadily from 30 million tonnes (1.2 billion bushels) to 47 million tonnes (1.9 billion bushels).

Corn exports have grown as well from 5.8 million tonnes (228 million bushels) to 19 million tonnes (748 million bushels).

US Grains Council Manager of Global Trade Kevin Roepke reported that last quarter Brazil exported more corn than the US. In August 2012, the US exported roughly 2.3 million tonnes (91 million bushels) of corn, according to USDA's weekly export sales report, compared to last year's August exports of 4.1 million tonnes (161 million bushels). For the same time period, Brazil exported approximately 2.7 million tonnes (106 million bushels), including more than 100,000 tonnes (3.9 million bushels) exporter to the US.

Brazil's top three corn export destinations include Iran, Egypt and South Korea.