MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil soybean exports down 8,87% in first half of 2022 compared to 2021

Brazil's 2021/22 soybean crop was 20 million tons short of expectations

Brazil shipped 55.1 million tons of soybeans in the first half of 2022, which is 8.87% less than in the same period of 2021 (60.5 million tons), according to the National Association of Cereal Exporters. (Anec).

The decline is explained by lower shipments to China (main destination, with 41.6 million tons in 2021 and 36.9 million tons in 2022) and the Netherlands (4th largest destination, with 2.5 million tons in 2021 and 1.7 million tons in 2022), respectively, 11.2% and 32.2% less compared to 2021.

Anec admits that in this 2021/22 crop, there was a significant crop failure, approximately 20 million tons below expectations. The severe drought that hit the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, and Mato Grosso do Sul for months was the cause of the significant production reductions.

The first expectations were for a production of 144 million tons and 92 million tons for export, which did not happen due to the drought.

According to Anec, this definitively is evidence that soybeans are a typical export commodity since the majority of it is exported, as opposed to maize, where the majority of it is consumed domestically, mainly in animal feed.

With the soybean crop in Brazil, the world’s largest producer and exporter of the oilseed, almost completed, with yields amounting to 125.8 tons, 300,000 more than the previous estimate. However, this volume is 9.4% below the 2021 record, according to Abiove, the Brazilian association of vegetable oil industries.

According to data from the association that brings together the main trading companies and industries in the sector, processing in Brazil was estimated at a record 48.3 million tons, 200,000 more than the previous forecast and 519,000 more than seen in 2021.

As a result, the country’s soybean meal production in 2022 was estimated at 37 million tons, a slight increase month on month versus 36.77 million in 2021.

Soybean oil production is expected to total 9.8 million tons compared to 9.75 million in the June forecast, with growth compared to 2021 (9.64 million), despite a lower blend of biodiesel in Brazilian diesel oil in 2022.

Soybean oil exports from Brazil were estimated at 2.15 million tons in 2022, up from 2 million in the previous forecast and 1.65 million in 2021, with the country meeting additional demand from countries that previously purchased Ukrainian sunflower oil, among other factors.