China increased its share of agricultural imports from Brazil in the first half of 2023, accounting for 37% of total exports (USD 83 billion), up from 35.5% in the same period last year. One of the highlights of this increase is the diversification of imports, although on a much smaller scale than soy. China opened its doors to Brazilian corn and, in the first half of 2023, purchased 1.34 million tonnes, worth US$374 million. In the first half of 2022, the Asian country did not purchase Brazilian corn. In the case of soybean oil, although the Chinese prefer to import soybeans in grain, purchases from the Asian country rose to 133,000 tonnes in the six-month period, up 57%. The highlight continues to be the purchases of soybeans in grain, which increased to 43.5 million tonnes in the year.
Sources: Folha de S. Paulo/Datamar News