Brazil steps up soybeans, meal, oil exports to cover Argentina losses

Brazil is expected to increase exports of soybeans, meal, and soybean oil in 2023 to compensate for the drop in the Argentina crop and also amid a reduction in ending stocks in the United States, Luiz Carlos dos Santos Jr, Managing Director of SA Commodities (Brazil) told delegates during the Fastmarkets Grain and Oilseeds MENA 2023 conference in Cairo Thursday.

If Brazil confirms a harvest of more than 155 million tons, it would likely have the capacity to export up to 95 million tons, dos Santos said, allowing Brazil to meet all of Argentina's import demand.

This year, soybean imports from Argentina could reach 10 million mt, and even with such import volumes, the country will have to reduce crushing volumes.

Drought in Argentina will reduce grain production and could result in the worst harvest of the last 15 seasons.

"The result of unprecedented drought means the exports of Argentina’s top commodities - soybeans, wheat, corn, sunflower and barley - are expected to fall by nearly a half in 2023," dos Santos told delegates.

Brazil, meanwhile, continues to actively export soybeans - with the country shipping a total of 15.6 million mt in May.

“The export pace is quite good so far but it will slow down as the harvesting of the 2nd corn crop will progress, so the logistics will become the main issue,” dos Santos said.

As for the importers, China remains the main destination for Brazilian soybean exports, followed by the EU.

The presentation was one of a series that highlighted the rising firepower of Brazil across a raft of agricultural commodities.