Aug 10, 2023

Brazil Expected to Export 52 Million Tons of Corn in 2023

Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.

August is expected to be a record month for corn exports from Brazil. The Brazilian National Association of Grain Exporters (Anec) is estimating that Brazil may export between 7.8 to 9.8 million tons of corn in August. If verified, it would surpass the prior record of 7.67 million tons set in 2019. In 2022, Brazil exported 7 million tons of corn in August.

August is traditionally a big month for corn exports because corn from the safrinha harvest is flowing to Brazilian ports. The safrinha corn harvest was 64% complete as of late last week. Additional demand from China is also expected to boost Brazil's corn exports to 52 million tons compared to the 44.7 million tons exported in 2022. China started to import Brazilian corn last November in response to the war between Russia and Ukraine, which was a major exporter of corn to China.

Up until August, Brazil exported 24.2 million tons of corn according to Anec. Brazil is expected to maintain strong corn exports for the remaining four months of 2023. Brazil will need to average 7 million tons of corn exports for the next four months to reach 52 million.

For soybeans, Anec reported that between January and August of 2023, Brazil exported 81.8 million tons, which already surpassed the total for 2022 of 77.8 million tons.