top of page

Potential Rise in Brazil’s Grain Harvests in 2024/25 While Expanding Capacity

Writer's picture: Ipasai NewsIpasai News
Brazil’s Grain Harvests

COFCO International, a major player in agricultural trading and processing, is forecasting a potential increase in Brazil's soybean and corn harvests for the 2024/25 season. This comes as the company prepares to operate a new export terminal next year, which will be one of the largest at the port of Santos.


In an interview with Reuters, Luiz Noto, the new CEO of Grains and Oilseeds at COFCO International in Brazil, emphasized that the Chinese company will begin operating the first phase of the new terminal at the port of Santos in the next harvest season. Upon completion of the second phase in 2026, the company’s export capacity will increase to 14 million tons from the current 4.5 million tons.


While COFCO did not disclose the additional capacity available in 2025, it indicated operations will begin in the first half of the year. The bulk of the volume is expected to be soybeans and corn, with the terminal also handling other products such as coffee, sugar, and cotton, which COFCO exports from Brazil.


"COFCO has enormous growth potential and a robust plan to become increasingly relevant in the markets it operates in Latin America, especially in Brazil," Noto said in an email interview. "The company will continue to invest in the country with a focus on increasing origination capacity with sustainable long-term growth."


Noto, who took up his new role in May after 21 years at competitor Archer Daniels Midland, explained that COFCO is investing $285 million in the two phases of construction at the port of Santos, the largest in Latin America. The first phase involves nearly 90% of the STS-11 terminal facilities. The second phase will see the demolition of T12A and the connection of equipment to phase 1.


"The project is in its first phase according to the contract and bid, and the terminal will be ready to start operations in 2025. The new terminal will be one of the largest at the Port of Santos," he highlighted.


According to Noto, the STS-11 terminal will become the main terminal in Santos and the only one to concentrate all COFCO International's cargo operations. "Annually, more than 200 ships will be loaded; over 110,000 trucks will be unloaded, equivalent to more than 2,250 km with all trucks lined up (distance between Laos and Shanghai), and more than 85,000 railcars per year, totaling 1,450 km of railcars in line (distance between Paris and Kyiv)," the executive estimated.


Next Harvest

All the infrastructure investment coincides with the company’s efforts to source greater volumes from Brazil. For the 2024/25 grain season, Noto told Reuters, "we see the potential for Brazil’s soybean and corn harvests to be larger than this year, with continued area growth and better yields, as both soybeans and corn were impacted by climatic issues this year."


Despite a drop in soybean harvests due to severe droughts in the Midwest and excessive rains in Rio Grande do Sul, Noto noted that soybean exports have been strong so far in 2024. "We have seen stronger accumulated exports compared to 2023," he emphasized, without providing specific numbers.


Regarding corn, the harvest will see a significant decline due to a smaller planted area and lower yields, affecting Brazil's exports, which reached a record of over 55 million tons in 2023, positioning Brazil as the world’s largest corn exporter.


Noto also mentioned that Chinese demand for soybeans "was very punctual this year, accompanied by accumulated growth over the previous year." He expects a similar trend for next year, as Brazil has the potential to remain competitive in destination markets if crop production normalizes. COFCO also foresees "healthy demand growth from other Asian countries."

12 views0 comments

Comments


Commenting has been turned off.
bottom of page