Jul 14, 2022

Brazilian Corn Exports to China Expected to Begin by End of 2022

Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.

Brazil is expected to start exporting corn to China before the end of 2022 according to a director for the Brazilian Corn Producers Association (Abramilho).

In May, custom officials from China and Brazil finalized an accord between the two countries that would permit Brazil to export corn to China. The two countries had been negotiating an agreement for some time, but the war in Ukraine convinced China that they needed to diversify their sources of corn instead of relying heavily on the U.S. Ukraine had been a major supplier of corn to China, but the war stranded millions of tons of corn in Ukrainian ports that had been destined for China.

The corn trade between Brazil and China has not started yet because the two countries are negotiating which GMO corn hybrids produced in Brazil will be allowed to be exported to China.

Brazil would also like to diversify the number of countries where they export corn. Brazil sells corn to Iran, Japan, Mexico, and the European Union and they want to export to as many countries as possible to avoid depending too much on any one country. The Brazilian National Association of Grain Exporters (Anec) expects Brazil to export 43 million tons of corn in 2022 compared to 20.8 million tons in 2021.

China purchases approximately 80% of Brazil's soybean exports per year and 50% of Brazil's meat exports.