December 13, 2022

 

China imports more corn from Brazil

Brazilian corn exporters are finally displacing American exporters, more than two years after China re-entered the market, as Brazilian shipments to China are expected to soar this month, Hellenic Shipping News reported.

 

This month, nine ships carrying 606,540 tonnes of Brazilian corn are scheduled to sail to China, according to the shipping schedule released by Williams Shipping Agency on Tuesday. That compares with two shipments totaling 93,250 tonnes in November.

 

Phytosanitary requirements had prevented China from importing corn from Brazil until last month, when Beijing approved the export of several Brazilian corn traders. Brazilian records showed the previous year's largest annual corn volume to China was approximately 172,000 tonnes.

 

Data from the US Census Bureau data showd the US exported 505,623 tonnes of corn to China in October, the lowest monthly volume in exactly a year. Total shipments to China in the first two months of 2022-23 will be 75% higher than last year, but one-third lower than in 2020.

 

China's remaining US corn balance is thin, with 1.8 million tonnes of unshipped 2022-23 sales as of November 24. That is equivalent to the monthly average volume of US corn exported to China between February and May 2022.

 

Brazil's corn may be capturing China's attention for the time being, but US soybeans may have an opportunity in the coming weeks before Brazil's presumably massive soy crop hits the market. Anec, the Brazilian exporter association, estimated Brazil's December soy exports at 1.7 million tonnes, less than the five-year average of 2.5 million.

 

China has recently purchased some US soybeans, and while the daily amounts are not as huge as in the past, it is still quite significant. In the week ending November 10, China and unknown destinations, assumed to be China, purchased 1.9 million tonnes of US soybeans.

 

If this trend continues, US bean sales in the last two weeks could be higher than expected.

 

Increased Chinese interest in US soybeans may make sense given China's November imports of 7.35 million tonnes, below the expected 9 million tonnes. China's October-November soy haul was 25% lower than average, despite domestic soymeal prices falling 17% from mid-November highs.

 

Analysts anticipate relatively modest 2022/23 U.S. soybean sales in the week ended December 1 in the range of 0.6 million to 1.2 million.

 

-      Hellenic Shipping News