CHICAGO: Brazilian farmers have been hesitant to sell their 2016/17 corn and soybeans over the past year, but that has not held the country back from already tallying record exports for both crops with a few months still left in the season (graphic).
Brazil and the United States are the two leading suppliers of both corn and soybeans, and together they account for about 70 percent of the world’s exportable product. And following this year’s harvests, corn and soybean supply in the South American country is 30 percent larger than one year earlier, when output was cut by drought. Brazil’s record soybean harvest was nearly complete by the end of March. But at the same time, producer sales of the oilseed were at a seven-year low, stemming from much-decreased profitability compared with the previous year. In fact, Brazilian farmers had been very slow on 2016/17 sales relative to previous years for both crops since before the first seeds were sown one year ago. This, along with competitive prices for the U.S. products, drove more business north of the equator than had been anticipated in light of Brazil’s monster corn and soybean harvests. In Brazil, corn and soybean exports are seasonal and immediately follow harvest. Corn is heavily shipped between August and January while soybeans take the stage beginning in February. U.S. soybean shipments are strongest between October and January, while corn is generally a year-round operation.
