Brazil closer to China corn exports as Beijing approves traders

Chinese customs updated its list of approved Brazilian corn exporters, a move a Brazilian agriculture official said could jumpstart sales of corn to the world’s second-largest economy.

The approvals could reshape global trade flows and result in fewer sales for farmers in the United States, the world’s top corn supplier.

Read also: Check out our coverage on Brazil

“It is a good alternative for Brazil, having (more) markets to send products to,” Glauco Bertoldo, an inspections director for vegetable products at Brazil’s agriculture ministry told Reuters.

He said in an interview the list of approved Brazilian facilities that can export corn to China may be updated to include more units in coming weeks.

The new list on the website of China’s General Administration of Customs included 136 corn export facilities, including facilities owned by Archer-Daniels-Midland Co (ADM.N), Bunge Ltd (BG.N), Cargill, Louis Dreyfus Company and Cofco International.

Once China starts buying corn from Brazil, traditional Brazilian corn importers such as Spain and Egypt could shift some of their purchases to the United States.

Beijing and Brasilia had signed a protocol for exporting corn from Brazil to China in 2014 but little trade had happened due to complex inspection requirements.

The countries agreed to a revised protocol during talks in May, just months after Russia invaded Ukraine.

China customs also published a list of 14 Brazilian facilities approved to export soymeal to the country, including those owned by Bunge Ltd and Olam, according to a document posted on customs website.

Demand for soymeal however is expected to be limited, given China’s large domestic production capacity, said traders and analysts.

China is expected to import 18 million tonnes of corn in the 2022/23 crop year that began in October, according to the agriculture ministry.

China’s imports from Ukraine have dwindled to less than 2,000 tonnes in September this year, leaving it reliant on the U.S. for the bulk of its overseas supplies.

With information from CLbrief