BRASÍLIA: Brazil has given grain trading companies an initial quota of 100,000 tonnes of tariff-free corn on purchases outside of the Mercosur trade bloc, the trade ministry stated in the official gazette on Tuesday. The gazette gave details on duty-free imports from outside Mercosur that were announced last week as Brazil faces a shortage of corn for feedstock after exporting most of its first of two annual crops. Corn imports from the Mercosur trading bloc are already tax free.
Non-Mercosur imports are now exempt from a tax that varies from 8 to 10 percent for a period of six months, up to a maximum amount of 1 million tonnes. The measure should favour imports from the United States. Import licenses of up to 100,000 tonnes will be awarded in order of company registration with the ministry, the gazette said.
