Brazilian agribusiness exports worth US$ 9.9 bln in February

The value of Brazilian agribusiness exports reached US$ 9.9 billion in February this year. The volume shipped abroad was reduced by around 12%, and the export price index rose by almost 7%. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the products that stood out in the month were corn, cellulose pulp, soymeal and soy oil, and chicken meat.

In February,  there was a decline in exports due to the reduction in exported volumes of soybeans, influenced by the delay in harvesting, despite the record production estimated by the National Supply Company (Conab) at 151.4 million tonnes for 2022/ 2023.

Foreign sales of sugar and wheat were also down. Due to concerns over the Argentine wheat crop, there was less of the product available for exports and less sugarcane crushing due to climate issues.

Beef also performed poorly due to a drop in international prices and decreased export volume. One reason for this drop in volume is an atypical case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (EBB), also known as “mad cow” disease, reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) on February 22. As a result, exports to China were temporarily suspended from February 23.

Year-to-date, Brazilian agribusiness exports reached a record in the first two months of the year: USD 20.1 billion.

Corn

Brazilian corn shipments totaled more than 2 million tonnes, with a total value of US$ 689 million in foreign exchange. According to an analysis by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock’s Secretariat of Trade and International Relations (SCRI/Mapa), such good performance is due to low international supply and high national production for the current harvest.

In Conab’s latest study, the harvest estimate was at around 125 million tonnes of corn. Thus, Brazil should be the world’s largest corn exporter in the season.

See below Brazil’s exports of corn in the same period between Jan 2019 to Jan 2023. The data is from DataLiner.

Brazilian corn exports | Jan 2019 – Jan 2023 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

The leading grain importers in February were Japan, South Korea, Colombia, Algeria, and Vietnam.

Pulp

External pulp sales broke a record in value and volume for February, reaching US$ 766 and 1.6 million tons, respectively. The most industrialized countries in the world are the primary consumers of Brazilian pulp: China, the European Union, and the United States.

Soymeal and oil

Foreign sales of soymeal, a product of the soy complex, reached US$ 710 million due to a 23% increase in the average export price. The top importers were Thailand, the Netherlands, Poland, France, and Indonesia.

Despite a 16.8% drop in the average export price, soy oil had a record month in terms of revenue and volume in February, reaching US$ 268 million. India and Bangladesh increased sales and imported 33% (73 thousand tons) and 25% (57 thousand tons) of the total exported volume, respectively.

See below a chart featuring the track record of Brazil’s exports of soy oil (hs 1507) between Jan 2019 and Jan 2023. The data is from DataLiner.

Soy oil exports | Jan 2019 – Jan 2023 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Poultry meat

Chicken meat already set a record in February, with 372 thousand tonnes and $726 million earned from sales. According to SCRI/Mapa analysts, because Brazil has no history of avian flu cases, the country can continuously set shipment records, given the current international presence of the disease. China, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates were the top buyers of this protein.]

See below a track record of Brazilian chicken meat exports from January 2019 onwards. The data is from DataLiner:

Brazilian chicken meat exports | Jan 2019 – Jan 2023 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

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