Port of Paranaguá receives first soy shipment in over 10 years

On November 27, a ship with 30,500 tons of soy from the United States arrived in the area of ​​the port of Paranaguá (PR). According to Portos do Paraná, the Discoverer, which is already moored off the port, will bring the first soybean import via Paranaguá in at least a decade. The vessel must dock between December 7-15 and will be inspected before unloading at a rate of 6 thousand tons per day.

Imports of American soybeans is an unusual situation, however this year Brazil sold large volumes of soybeans to China, the largest global importer of the oilseed, which meant that there was little leftover for domestic consumption. The situation resulted in a record value in reais of the raw material for feed, causing food inflation in the country.

The ship was chartered by Louis Dreyfus, according to data from shipping agencies. Although it is a small amount by global commercial standards, the 30,500 tons are the largest volume of US soybeans purchased by Brazil since 1997. On October 16, Brazil had temporarily suspended import tariffs for soybeans from suppliers outside Mercosur.

The country should import 1 million tons in 2020, according to ABIOVE, the Brazilian association of vegetable oil industries, the highest volume since at least 2008.

Most of them have already arrived in the country, since imports from January to October totaled 625,500 tons of soy, according to government data, with Mercosur countries dominating the supply – Paraguay supplied 589,000 tons, followed by Uruguay (36,300 tons). The total volume imported is much greater than the 125,000 tons imported in the same period last year.

Although this is the first soy shipment received in 10 years, the Port of Paranaguá is known for exporting the oilseed.  See the following graph:

Regulatory risks

According to ABIOVE, the importation of genetically modified soy from the USA by Brazil may carry regulatory risks, considering that the two countries treat the approval of transgenic seeds differently. The entity defends the synchronization of authorizations between the two countries to eliminate any uncertainty.

For example, genetically modified seeds resistant to herbicides such as glyphosate and insects such as caterpillars are allowed in Brazil and the USA. But so-called transgenic events are approved jointly in Brazil and separately in the USA.

In early November, Brazil recognized the equivalence of transgenic events approved in the USA and Brazil in order to provide legal certainty to importers.

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