Brazil must reduce its dependence on China for soybean exports, says VP

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s Vice President Hamilton Mourão attended the opening ceremony of the 9th Brazilian Soy Congress – Mercosoja 2022 – in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, on Monday (16).

He believes the country must reduce its dependence on China, the main importer of Brazilian soybeans. “We need to look for new markets,” he said.

According to Mourão, Brazil is in the process of opening new markets. “We are betting on southern Africa, southern Asia, and the Middle East,” he enumerated.

According to the Ministry of Economy’s Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex), China imported 14.851 million tons of soybeans from Brazil from January to March 2022.

The volume is 35% higher than the 10.989 million tons in the same period in 2021.

Spain ranked second with 1.008 million tons, 53% higher than the same period last year. In third place was Holland with 612.7 million tons, down 52% from the same period last year.

In total, Brazilian soybean exports from January to March 2022 amounted to 20.978 million tons.

In the same period last year, the figure was 15.389 million tons.

Another point highlighted by Mourão was the need for an organization of South America to further increase competitiveness in the international export market.

“Something like OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) for food,” he explained.