Brazilian corn exports hit 5 million mt in December, bringing the total for the 2020 calendar year to 34.8 million mt, down from 44 million mt exported in the previous year as stronger domestic demand and a marginally smaller crop cut the surplus, official export data released late Monday showed.
And for soybeans, despite a marked slowdown in exports during the month of December, total exports in 2020 came in at 88.4 million mt, up from the 75.5 million mt exported last year amid a larger crop and record levels of farmer selling earlier in the year amid a fall in the value of the real against the US dollar.
For December, soybean exports hit 274,083 mt, the lowest monthly volume on record since January 2015 – when just 85,127 mt of soybeans left Brazilian ports – after a record export campaign between March and July left limited supplies for the remainder of the year.
On a monthly basis, both final totals exceeded prior cumulative forecasts based on official export and line up data, with Agricensus Decembers forecasts for corn standing at 4.41 million mt and for soybeans at 181,475 mt on December 22.
Looking ahead, soybean exports are expected to slow to a trickle until the new crop comes online which may be later in March given planting problems at the beginning of the campaign due to bad weather.
And corn exports are not expected to pick up until the safrinha hits in July and August, which combined with an export ban on Argentinian corn until March, means that buyers looking for front-month shipment from the Americas will largely be limited to the US.
SOURCE: AgriCensus
