By Roberto Samora
SAO PAULO, March 15 (Reuters) – Brazil will increase soybean processing in 2023 due to higher demand for soybean meal and soybean oil amid a crop shortfall in Argentina, but with record local production , the supply will be enough to increase exports to China, said the president of Abiove, the association of companies in the sector, told Reuters.
“It’s an atypical year, because the fall in Argentina is significant and affects the flour and oil market, and this will encourage us to transform a lot this year. But as we will have a good harvest, there will be no type of loss in relation to the supply of export cereals,” said André Nassar.
While Brazil – the world’s largest producer and exporter of soybeans – is set to harvest a record crop of some 150m tonnes, Argentina – the main exporter of soymeal and soybean oil – will see its production fall to less than 30m tonnes. .
“Unlike last year, when Brazil’s exports ended up falling, this year we will grow…I think it’s also important to give a signal to the Chinese,” he added. .
The area planted with soybeans in Brazil increased by around 5% in the 2022/23 season to reach 43.5 million hectares.
China’s total soybean imports fell in 2022 for the second consecutive year to around 91 million tonnes, with Brazil adding a total of 54.4 million tonnes.
Last year, Brazilian grain arrivals in China fell by 6 percent due to shortages in the domestic harvest and lower demand from China’s pork and poultry industry.
But China’s record soybean imports in the first two months of 2023 and Brazil’s record crop, currently being harvested, bode well.
Asked if shipments from Brazil would return to 2021 levels, Nassar said he thought “it’s going in that direction,” although he avoided making projections.
According to the latest estimates from Abiove, Brazil should export to all destinations a record 92 million tonnes of cereals, an annual increase of 16.6%, while internal processing will increase by 4% to 52.5 million. tons. (Reporting by Roberto Samora. Editing in Spanish by Javier Leira)