Soyabean exports totaled 80.1 million tons from January to November this year, according to a survey by the National Association of Grain Exporters (Anec) based on the cargoes that actually left the country’s ports in the period. The result already surpasses in 17% the record of sales of the oilseed abroad recorded in the whole last year (68.3 million tons). In November, when sales abroad reached almost 5 million tons, an atypical volume for the month – 2 million tons in November 2017 – demand for the Brazilian grain continued to be driven by trade disputes between China and the United States, which raised US soyabeans on Chinese territory after the entry into force of a 25% surcharge. The “advantage” of Brazilian soyabeans in the Chinese market, however, tends to end. Over the weekend, at the G-20 summit, Donald Trump, the president of the United States, and Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, have stepped up deals to end disputes between the two countries. Trump announced that China has agreed to “reduce and eliminate” tariffs on cars imported from the United States. During the G-20, countries paused in the trade war. The news should reduce the premiums paid in ports for Brazilian soyabeans. Still according to Anec, in contrast Brazilian exports of corn reached 18.937 million tons, down 26.5% over the same period last year. Cereal sales were hampered by the country’s crop failures and by the establishment of minimum road freight rates, which made transporting the grain from the Midwest (main producing region) to the main ports in the South and Southeast more expensive. In November, 3,947 million tons of corn were shipped abroad, 7.3% less than in November 2017.
Src: Portos e Navios