November 3, 2020

US grain export terminal loading 38,000 tonnes of soybeans for shipment to Brazil

A Southport Agencies shipping lineup showed 38,000 tonnes of soybeans from the United States is being shipped to Brazil at a Baton Rouge, Louisiana grain export terminal, Reuters reported.

The unusual shipment from the US to Brazil comes as the latter is battling increasing prices for domestic food staples.

According to Refinitiv Eikon vessel data, the soybeans are being loaded on the vessel Discoverer at the Louis Dreyfus Port Allen, Louisiana, terminal. The Discoverer can hold as much as 70,000 tonnes of commodities at a time for shipment to major importers like China.

This 38,000 tonnes soybean shipment is the biggest export of soybeans from US to Brazil since 1997, when Brazil last imported more than 600,000 tonnes of US soybeans, based on trade data from the US Census Bureau.

Brazilian oilseeds crusher industry group Abiove said imported US soybeans will be used for internal processing but importing larger quantities of the commodity will need approval for specific soy traits that are genetically modified. These are authorised in the US but not in Brazil.

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro said the country was looking to import soybeans and rice last week.

Brazil imposed temporary lifted import tariffs for corn, soybeans and soy products from outside its Mercosur trading bloc to stop inflation.

Brazilian soybean supplies have been depleted due to record exports to China earlier this year, with the next harvest only arriving next year January.

China imported 56.3 million tonnes of soybeans from April to September 2020. 86%, or 48.9 million tonnes from that total was imported from Brazil.

-      Reuters