Brazil’s November corn exports at all-time high

According to official data, 68,302 tonnes of corn set sail to China in November

Brazil exported a record 6.1 million tonnes of corn in November, with the first load going to China after the country lifted trade barriers for Brazilian corn, official customs data showed Monday, December 5.

The data has confirmed that 68,302 tonnes of corn set sail to China in November.

The first volumes bound for China since the country lifted its phytosanitary barriers to Brazilian corn were carried by a vessel named Star Iris chartered by Cofco as mentioned in the media a couple of weeks back, Fastmarkets Agriculture has confirmed by cross-checking the information with line-up data.

November exports were by far the largest for the month on record, above the previous highest quantity of 4.8 million tonnes exported in 2015.

The main destinations for Brazil’s November corn exports were Japan (856,250 tonnes), Vietnam (714,409 tonnes) and Iran (673,505 tonnes), while Spain and Mexico also bought volumes of over 500,000 tonnes.

Over half of the country’s monthly exports originated in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil’s agricultural powerhouse.

Other relevant corn origins were Paraná (10%), São Paulo (8%) and Goiás (6%).

Monthly volumes lifted Brazil’s corn exports since the beginning of the calendar up to 37.2 million tonnes, the second largest on record for the first eleven months of the year and over double of volumes exported during the same period in 2021 when the country faced a major crop loss.

View our data analysis on current corn price volatility drivers

Soybean exports

Brazil exported 2.6 million tonnes of soybeans in November, down from 3.9 million tonnes in October but slightly higher year-on-year.

China bought the bulk of Brazil’s November bean exports (2.1 million tonnes), while other relevant volumes headed to Thailand (172,047 tonnes), Russia (166,519 tonnes), Spain (121,000 tonnes) and Vietnam (92,711 tonnes).

Russia has been importing larger-than-normal soybean volumes from Brazil since the beginning of the war with Ukraine, having bought 1.3 million tonnes of Brazilian beans since January, almost twice as much as it imported during the same period in 2021.

The main originations for Brazilian beans exported in November were Mato Grosso (19%) and Rio Grande do Sul (18%) as the latter typically has larger soybean availability in the end of the year compared to other states due to its later planting schedule.

Bahia (14%), Goiás (11%) and Paraná (10%) were other relevant origins for Brazilian soybeans in November.

Monthly exports pushed total soybean volumes shipped by the country since January up to 77 million tonnes, below the 83.4 million tonnes exported in the same period in 2021.

Soybean meal and oil exports

Brazil’s soy meal and soy oil exports remained robust in November, with 1.6 million tonnes of meal and 218,057 tonnes of oil shipped.

That compares to 1.3 million tonnes of soy meal and 171,003 tonnes of soy oil exported in November 2021.

The main export markets for Brazilian soy meal in November were Indonesia (315,129 tonnes), the Netherlands (251,611 tonnes), Thailand (197,748 tonnes), Germany (153,739 tonnes), Slovenia (133,526 tonnes) and France (100,858 tonnes).

Most November soy meal exports originated in Mato Grosso (33%) and Paraná (25%), the two states that have the largest soybean crush installed capacity.

Accumulated soy meal exports since the beginning of the market year reached 19.3 million tonnes, 24% higher year-on-year.

The key destinations for Brazil’s November soy oil exports were South Korea (15,500 tonnes), Venezuela (8,427 tonnes), Pakistan (7,900 tonnes) and Vietnam (7,500 tonnes).

Most volumes exported in November originated in Paraná (31%), Rio Grande do Sul (16%), Mato Grosso (15%), Goiás (10%) and Santa Catarina (9%).

Total soy oil exports since the beginning of the calendar year reached 2.3 million tonnes, up from 1.5 million tonnes shipped during the same period in 2021.

What to read next
The recently concluded EU-Mercosur free-trade agreement, after 25 years of negotiation, is expected to have limited immediate impact on South American agricultural exports to Europe.
The French corn harvest advanced by 7 percentage points in the week to Monday November 25, with 89% of the total planted area now harvested, according to the latest weekly report from FranceAgriMer.
Argentina’s soybean sowing area estimate for the 2024-25 crop was raised by 0.6%, to 17.9 million hectares, while the wheat output was projected at 17.6 million tonnes, the country's Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (SagyP) monthly report showed on Thursday November 21.
Fastmarkets has corrected select forward price months for AG-CRN-0051 Corn CIF Vietnam c$/bu, which were published incorrectly on Thursday November 14.
The USDA's latest report shows that the US corn and soybean harvests have exceeded market expectations
Speculators in the US corn market cut short positions, helping send the net short to the highest level since August 2023, while adding shorts in soybean and wheat contracts in the week to Tuesday October 29, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed late on Friday November 1.