April 23, 2014
Brazil's soy export estimate falls on lower China demand
Due to weaker Chinese demand, Brazil would export 43 million tonnes of soy from this season's nearly harvested crop, down from its forecast of 44 million tonnes a month earlier, according to Brazilian soy crushing association Abiove.
Abiove held to its forecast for production at a record 86.1 million tonnes and maintained its estimate for domestic processing at 37 million tonnes.
Abiove General Secretary Fábio Trigueirinho said the downward revision reflects slightly lower demand from China, by far the top buyer of Brazilian soy.
The association represents the top international soy crushers operating in Brazil, including ADM, Bunge Ltd, Cargill Inc. and Louis Dreyfus Corp.
US soy futures turned lower on Tuesday (Apr 15), pressured by talk of imports of soy or soymeal into the US and worry that top global buyer China could reject more purchases, traders said.
Due to a depressed local market, China has been cancelling soy orders. The country's top buyer, Shandong Sunrise Group, said last week that Chinese buyers may default on a further 1.2 million tonnes of soyworth about US$900 million being shipped from the US and South America, to avoid incurring huge losses.