Brazil to export 83m mt of beans as November shipments double

Brazilian soybean exports during November more than doubled on the year to 5.07 million mt as Chinese buyers cleared out Brazil’s storage bins, customs data showed.

The figure is a new record for the month and surpasses the previous record hit last year of 2.14 million mt.

Chinese crushers have shifted their Q4 soybean purchases from the US to South America after President Xi Jinping hiked import taxes on US beans as part of a tit-for-tat trade war with the US.

The data means that Brazilian soybean exports during the first 11 months just came in under the 80 million mt at 79.63 million mt, while another 3.17 million mt is lined up at Brazilian ports to leave during December with most vessels bound for China.

That will mean that Brazil will have exported an estimated 83 million mt of beans by the end of the year, or 14.7 million mt more than over the same period last year, which was a record in itself.

Meanwhile, corn exports during November were up on the year as well, following disappointing monthly export figures over the past few months as ports focussed on soybeans instead.

November exports came in just under 4 million mt, 13.6% up on the year, bringing total 2018 exports so far to 19.9 million mt, with another 2.82 million mt lined up, mainly in the port of Santos, to leave during December.

That would place 2018 exports at 22.72 million mt, some 6.55 million mt behind last year’s progress.