Brazil, Spain sign up to 6m mt/yr grain deal through Canary Islands

Officials from Spain and Brazil signed a trade deal late last week that is intended to move up to 6 million mt of soybeans, corn and farm goods from the Port of Acu in Rio de Janeiro state to the Port of Las Palmas in Spain’s Canary Islands.

The groundwork for the deal was conducted by officials led by the number-two at the Brazilian Agriculture Ministry, Eumar Novacki, on a mission to Spain in October of 2017.  

The pilot project between the two ports will kickoff with 25,000 mt of grain that will pass through Las Palmas on to Morroco, according to the deal signed at one of Brazil’s biggest agricultural fairs, Cotrijal, last week in the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul.

The deal will take advantage of the grain storage capacity at Las Palmas as a staging point for the distribution of Brazilian agricultural commodities, mostly soybeans and corn, either entering the European Union through the Canary Islands or moving on to countries in Africa.

The deal envisages exports of up to 6 million mt per year of farm goods from Brazil.

Las Palmas receives vessels that regularly service maritime routes to 30 countries Africa.

“The opportunity is especially interesting because it allows us to distribute our products with ease and at competitive costs to Africa – a frontier that could be better explored by Brazil, as well as to the European Union, which is currently our second largest import market,” said Evaldo da Silva Junior, director of trade at the agriculture ministry.