Brazil’s November corn exports at all-time high, first vessel heads to China

Brazil has exported a record 6.1 million mt of corn in November, with the first vessel loaded with grain going to China after the Asian country lifted trade barriers for Brazilian corn, official customs data showed Monday.

The data has confirmed that 68,302 mt of corn set sail to China in November.

The first volumes bound for China since the country lifted its phytosanitary barriers to Brazilian corn were carried by a vessel named Star Iris chartered by Cofco as mentioned in the media a couple of weeks back, Agricensus has confirmed by cross-checking the information with line-up data.

November exports were by far the largest for the month on record, above the previous monthly high of 4.8 million mt in 2015.

The main destinations for Brazil’s November corn exports were Japan (856,250 mt), Vietnam (714,409 mt) and Iran (673,505 mt) while Spain and Mexico also bought volumes higher than 500,000 mt.

Over half of the country’s monthly exports were originated in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil’s agricultural powerhouse.

Other relevant corn origins were Paraná (10%), São Paulo (8%) and Goiás (6%).

Monthly volumes lifted Brazil’s corn exports since the beginning of the calendar up to 37.2 million mt, the second largest on record for the first eleven months of the year and over double of volumes exported during the same period in 2021 when the country faced a major crop loss.

Soybeans

Brazil has exported 2.6 million mt of soybeans in November, down from 3.9 million mt in October but slightly higher year-on-year.

China bought the bulk of Brazil’s November bean exports (2.1 million mt) while other relevant volumes headed to Thailand (172,047 mt), Russia (166,519 mt), Spain (121,000 mt) and Vietnam (92,711 mt).

Russia has been importing larger-than-normal soybean volumes from Brazil since the beginning of the war with Ukraine, having bought 1.3 million mt of Brazilian beans since January, almost twice as much as it imported during the same period in 2021.

The main originations for Brazilian beans exported in November were Mato Grosso (19%) and Rio Grande do Sul (18%) as the latter typically has larger soybean availability in the end of the year compared to other states due to its later planting schedule.

Bahia (14%), Goiás (11%) and Paraná (10%) were other relevant origins for Brazilian soybeans in November.

Monthly exports pushed total soybean volumes shipped by the country since January up to 77 million mt, below the 83.4 million mt exported in the same period in 2021.

Soybean meal and oil

Brazil’s soymeal and soyoil exports remained robust in November, with 1.6 million mt of meal and 218,057 mt of oil shipped.

That compares to 1.3 million mt of soymeal and 171,003 mt of soyoil exported in November 2021.

The main export markets for Brazilian soymeal in November were Indonesia (315,129 mt), the Netherlands (251,611 mt), Thailand (197,748 mt), Germany (153,739 mt), Slovenia (133,526 mt) and France (100,858 mt).

Most November soymeal exports were originated in Mato Grosso (33%) and Paraná (25%), the two states that have the largest soybean crush installed capacity.

Accumulated soymeal exports since the beginning of the market year reached 19.3 million mt, 24% higher year-on-year.

The key destinations for Brazil’s November soyoil exports were South Korea (15,500 mt), Venezuela (8,427 mt), Pakistan (7,900 mt) and Vietnam (7,500 mt).

Most volumes exported in November were originated in Paraná (31%), Rio Grande do Sul (16%), Mato Grosso (15%), Goiás (10%) and Santa Catarina (9%).

Total soyoil exports since the beginning of the calendar year reached 2.3 million mt, up from 1.5 million mt shipped during the same period in 2021.