by Roberto Machel
SAO PAULO, Jul 2 (Reuters) – Brazil’s corn export season started this month, albeit slowly, and the number of ships loading and leaving the country in July is expected to be less than half of the total for the same month. 2020, according to shipping data from Cargonave.
Some 39 vessels are lined up to load corn in Brazilian ports, up from 85 in July last year, according to Cargonave.
Brazil exported around 33 million tons in 2020, but this year weather problems cut production, compromising sales. According to market projections, the South American giant could export about 20 million tons of corn in 2021.
“Sales were redirected to the domestic market,” said Frederico Humberg, Executive Director of the commercial firm AgriBrasil.
Brazil normally exports most of its corn beginning in the middle of the year, after the second harvest of the grain.
With the second corn crop, planted after the soybean crop, Brazil is aggressively competing with the United States in global markets. In 2021, however, a more recent drought and frosts slashed production and reduced export prospects.
One broker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that domestic buyers are paying more than external ones, which affects shipments.
According to data from the grain exporting group Anec, Brazil will ship around 2.5 million tons of corn in July, compared to 5 million tons the same month last year.
