U.S. buys Brazilian soybeans after price drop - shipping data

Andersons

21/04/2023 17:00

By Ana Mano
       SAO PAULO, April 21 (Reuters) - A drop in prices due to
abundant local supplies is making Brazil an attractive origin
for soybeans, with at least two vessels carrying a combined
79,150 tonnes of Brazilian product heading to the U.S. in the
next few days, according to shipping data. 
    The CS Satira, chartered by The Andersons  ANDE.O , is
expected to set sail on April 30 carrying 33,000 tonnes of
Brazilian soybeans from the port of Santarem to the U.S.,
shipping data from Cargonave showed on Thursday.
    A bigger cargo of 46,150 tonnes will be shipped by charterer
Bunge Ltd  BG.N  from the port of Itacoatiara on April 25,
according to the data.
    Representatives from Bunge and The Andersons did not respond
to requests for comment.
    The movement of soybeans from Brazil's record harvest to the
U.S. could cut into the prices that U.S. farmers who have
soybeans in storage bins receive for the crops they have been
holding since the fall.
    More shipments are expected in the coming months due to the
price differential between U.S. and Brazilian supplies, said
Michael Cordonnier, president of consultancy Soybean and Corn
Adviser.
    "The discount is like $2 a bushel coming out of Brazil,"
Cordonnier said. "They say that is enough to pay for the
transportation costs. The ports are working as fast as they
can."
    Recent improvements in Brazil's Amazon river ports and some
facilities on the northern coast of the country also helped to
facilitate shipments to the U.S.
    Brazil, the world's largest soybean producer and exporter,
is also expected to sell massive volumes of soybeans to
Argentina in 2023 to make up for a shortfall in its neighbor's
supplies due to a severe drought. 
   At least 15 ships chartered by global grain traders have
sailed or will depart from different Brazilian ports carrying a
combined 475,689 tonnes of Brazilian soybeans to Argentina,
Cargonave data showed.
    Brazilian soybean port premiums have fallen to historical
lows amid lukewarm Chinese demand and a record soybean crop of
above 153 million tonnes.

 (Additional reporting by Mark Weinraub in Chicago; Editing by
Jan Harvey)
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