While Brazil’s soybean exports were down, year-on-year, pulled by lower Chinese purchases, the country’s corn and soybean product shipments remained robust.
Soybeans exports
Brazil’s soybean exports bound to China remained subdued in June, with shipments down nearly 600,000 tonnes year-on-year, official customs data showed.
The world’s main soybean importer secured 6.5 million tonnes of soybeans that left Brazilian ports in June, equivalent to 65% of Brazil’s total monthly exports and compared to 7.1 million tonnes in June 2021.
That was the main factor behind the 1.0 million tonnes year-on-year drop in Brazil’s June soybean exports, which landed at 10.1 million tonnes.
Chinese soybean imports have been lackluster due to poor domestic crush margins, with total volumes imported from Brazil in the first half of the calendar year at 35.2 million tonnes, 11.5% lower on the year.
Brazilian shipments heading to the European Union and the UK also dropped three percentage points month-on-month and 2 points on the year, representing 11% of Brazil’s total June shipments as high energy prices have been pressuring crush margins in the block.
On the flip side, soybean volumes exported by the South American country to south and southeast Asia have increased both month-on-month and year-on-year to reach 1.4 million tonnes in June, 14% of the total.
In terms of origination, most of the beans exported in June came from Mato Grosso (35%), São Paulo (13%) and Goiás (11%), while volumes originated from northern and northeastern states amounted to 24% of the total.
Corn exports
Meanwhile, Brazil’s corn exports remained robust, landing at 1.1 million tonnes in June compared to just over 92,000 tonnes in 2021 and 312,211 tonnes in 2020.
Most volumes were bound to Iran (27%), followed by Spain (22%), Egypt (15%), and Colombia (10%).
As for beans, the primary origin of Brazil’s June corn exports was Mato Grosso, where harvest works are more advanced.
The center-west state was responsible for 40% of volumes shipped in June, while 19% came from Paraná, 17% from São Paulo, 8% from Bahia, and 7% from Rio Grande do Sul.
Soybean products exports
Brazil exported 2.3 million tonnes of soymeal and 317,509 tonnes of soyoil in June compared to 1.7 million tonnes and 168,847 tonnes at the same point in the previous year as global demand for those products remained robust.
The main destinations for Brazil’s soymeal exports were Thailand (372,392 tonnes), Iran (228,314 tonnes), Indonesia (205,890 tonnes) and South Korea (201,743 tonnes).
Relevant volumes were also bound to Vietnam, Bangladesh, and European countries such as the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, France and Denmark.
Most June soyoil volumes headed to south Asia, with India accounting for 161,500 tonnes and Bangladesh for 50,890 tonnes of the total.
Other relevant destinations were Iran (35,854 tonnes), Iraq (28,000 tonnes) and China (20,000 tonnes).
Brazil has exported 10.4 million tonnes of soymeal and 1.3 million tonnes of soyoil in the first half of 2022, 46% and 65% higher year-on-year, respectively.
