November 23, 2005

 

Brazil 2006-07 soybean export registrations remain slow

 

 

Registrations of Brazilian soybean exports for the 2006-07 season stayed slow in the first half of November though the continued ascent of the Brazil real and the slump in international soy prices dampened local interest in selling abroad, official figures showed Tuesday.

 

Soybean export registrations to Nov 15 reached 1.6 million tonnes, up 146,000 tonnes from the 15 days before and significantly higher than the slow sales of 2005-06, which stood at 40,000 tonnes at this stage of the season last year, according to government figures released by the Brazilian Vegetable Oils Industry Association, or Abiove.

 

Last year, farmers balked at selling while prices on world markets tumbled, so comparing those figures to this year's figures can be misleading. The 2006-07 registrations are still far lower than the 557,000 tonnes seen at the same point of the more typical 2004-05 season.

 

Abiove forecasts 2006-07 soybean exports will total 25.0 million tonnes, up from 22.1 million tonnes the year before.

 

That means that soybean registrations to date equal just 6.4 percent of estimated exports, again higher than the 2.9 percent registered at the same point a year ago, but far lower than the 23.7 percent registered in 2004-05.

 

Meanwhile, soymeal registrations for the 2006-07 season did not change during the first 15 days of November, totalling 237,000 tonnes or the same as on Oct 31. That was below the 283,000 tonnes registered at the same point last year and well below the 1.25 million tonnes registered for 2004-05.

 

Tight crush margins are reducing soymeal export opportunities for the 2006-07 season.

 

Soymeal exports are expected to end the 2006-07 season at 12.8 million tonnes, down from 13.3 million tonnes this year.

 

Soyoil export registrations to Nov 15 totalled 30,000 tonnes, down marginally from the 32,000 tonnes at the same point last year.

 

Exports for the coming season are pegged to reach 2.35 million tonnes, down from the 2.5 million tonnes last year and nearly equivalent to the 2.45 million tonnes exported in 2004-05.

 

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