December 19, 2005

 

ASA Weekly: GM soy seed usage slows in Brazil; China limits soyoil importing firms

 

 

GM soy seed usage slows in Brazil

 

A lower-than-expected 40 percent of Brazil's 2006 soybean harvest will be from GM varieties as farmers were faced with tough economic times following lower returns in the previous drought-hit season.

 

Of the 22 million hectares of soybeans sown in the country, about 9 million hectares are GM, with just 3 million hectares of these legally registered.

 

Analysts had forecast 50 percent of Brazil's soybean area would be planted with GM varieties after Brazil's congress approved such crops in March, up from 30 percent in the previous year. Farmers used larger amounts of lower quality farm-saved seed and illegal GM seed smuggled from Argentina and Paraguay.

 

China limits soyoil importing firms

 

The Chinese government will allow only large-scale firms to import soyoil, palmoil and rapeseed oil in 2006 when it scraps import quotas on the three edible oils, industry officials said last week. The move aims to "avoid unchecked imports, which would hurt the domestic market" after the quotas are scrapped, the industry association said in a notice published on the International Business Daily.

 

A coordination team jointly set up by China Vegetable Oils Association and China Chamber of Commerce and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products will review importers' application and give approval the notice said.

 

China sets quotas for imports of edible oils, grains and cotton each year as part of its commitment to the WTO. As agreed, it will scrap import quotas for vegetable oils in 2006 while quotas remain for import of grains, sugar and cotton.

 

Trading firms with registered capital of more than RMB10 million (US$1.24 million) and annual sales revenues of RMB200 million (US$24.8 million) will be allowed to import vegetable oils, according to the notice.

  

Indian prime minister says there is "anomaly" in soyoil duty

 

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said last week that there is an anomaly in the country's soyoil duties, but stopped short of saying he would change the structure.

 

Singh said that historically soyoil had been treated more favourably than palm oil, because in the past India did not produce any soyoil.

 

"Therefore, we felt that by fixing our rates low we would not be hurting any domestic enterprises. So that's the reason why I think soybean got treated differently. There is an anomaly there," he told a meeting of businessmen on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.

 

U.S. & South America Soybean/Products Balance
	United States			Argentina			Brazil
	Actual	Estimate	Proj.	Actual	Estimate	Proj.	Actual	Estimate	Proj.
	2003/04	2004/05	2005/06	2003/04	2004/05	2005/06	2003/04	2004/05	2005/06
Soybeans	thousand tonnes
Carryin	4,853	3,059	6,954	1,630	2,046	2,181	3,231	2,321	903
Production	66,778	85,013	82,820	33,000	39,000	40,500	50,500	51,000	58,500
Imports	151	126	108	540	530	485	364	470	494
Crush	41,631	46,160	46,810	25,072	27,800	29,100	29,172	28,200	31,026
Exports	23,946	30,011	29,257	6,500	9,800	10,000	19,571	21,830	24,750
Other	3,146	5,073	4,296	1,552	1,795	1,810	3,031	2,858	3,021
Usage	68,723	81,244	80,363	33,124	39,395	40,910	51,774	52,888	58,797
Carryout	3,059	6,954	9,519	2,046	2,181	2,256	2,321	903	1,100
Soymeal	thousand tonnes
Carryin	200	191	155	347	354	560	763	532	200
Production	32,953	36,938	37,116	19,807	21,806	22,900	22,920	22,306	24,465
Domestic use	28,590	30,483	31,116	700	850	950	8,784	8,950	9,450
Net Exports	4,372	6,491	5,928	19,100	20,750	22,050	14,367	13,688	14,673
Usage	32,962	36,974	37,044	19,800	21,600	23,000	23,151	22,638	24,123
Carryout	191	155	227	354	560	460	532	200	542
Soybean oil	thousand tonnes
Carryin	676	488	767	99	74	100	150	93	95
Production	7,748	8,781	8,816	4,513	5,115	5,354	5,258	5,220	5,625
Domestic use	7,651	7,900	8,142	140	145	155	2,710	2,948	3,020
Net exports	285	602	583	4,398	4,944	5,224	2,605	2,270	2,600
Usage	7,936	8,502	8,725	4,538	5,089	5,379	5,315	5,218	5,620
Carryout	488	767	858	74	100	75	93	95	100

 

USDA Export Sales (tmt) - Week of 8 December 2005
Country	Commodity	New Sales	Accum. Exports		Country	Commodity	New Sales	Accum. Exports
Canada	Soybeans	20.20	89.70		Japan	Soymeal	11.40	84.90
China	Soybeans	66.60	4265.20		Korea, Rep.	Soymeal	0.10	0.00
Colombia	Soybeans	22.10	43.10		Lebanon	Soymeal	7.50	7.50
Japan	Soybeans	113.30	761.50		Mexico	Soymeal	32.30	259.30
Mexico	Soybeans	29.10	1009.40		Philippines	Soymeal	0.30	102.90
Netherlands	Soybeans	68.00	390.60		Salvador	Soymeal	6.30	26.10
Singapore	Soybeans	0.20	25.20		Surinam	Soymeal	1.30	6.30
Taiwan	Soybeans	7.60	569.10		Venezuela	Soymeal	16.00	4.00
UAE	Soybeans	65.00	0.00		Canada	Soyoil	0.10	6.70
UK	Soybeans	39.30	45.00		Kuwait	Soyoil	0.10	0.40
Canada	Soymeal	11.10	225.30		Nicaragua	Soyoil	2.00	0.00
Colombia	Soymeal	22.80	59.80
Dom. Rep.	Soymeal	2.40	52.60		Export Sales Totals (tmt)
Guatemala	Soymeal	0.70	35.70		Commodity	Outstanding Sales	Accum. Exports	New Sales
Honduras	Soymeal	3.40	30.00		Soybeans	3,944.30	8,963.00	504.20
Hong Kong	Soymeal	0.10	5.10		Soymeal	1,431.40	1,195.30	130.70
Jamaica	Soymeal	1.00	16.50		Soyoil	92.30	72.60	0.20