Government sources confirm that there is a possibility that Brazil will ship the first batch of corn to China later this year.
Initially there was an expectation that the cereal to be sent to the Asian country would be the 2022/23 crop, to be planted, but the Chinese need corn first.
For that, Brazil needs to meet the technical requirements demanded by China, according to an interlocutor who followed the negotiation.
These criteria are being analyzed by the Department of Agricultural Defense of the Ministry of Agriculture.
“What will define whether shipments will be corn from this or the next harvest is compliance with the requirements. Exports are no longer being negotiated from a phytosanitary point of view, but there are procedures to be completed for the implementation of the protocol this season, such as the authorization of establishments”, the source told Estadão/Broadcast Agro.
According to the interlocutor, China agreed to bring forward the shipments of the 2022/23 crop for corn produced in 2021/22, giving up the monitoring of possible pests that may have affected the cereal crops, due to its need for supply. .
"I reinforce what the minister said: they want our corn 'immediately' and that's why they gave in to the demands," said the source.
At a meeting to present the export protocols to China this Friday, the government signaled to exporters that the first corn shipments could be carried out later this year and that the Chinese government had already issued licenses for companies to export corn from Brazil.
Brazilian companies have until the 19th to express interest in exporting the cereal to China with the Ministry of Agriculture, which will evaluate the units and then grant the authorization.
According to the executive director of the Brazilian Association of Corn Producers, Glauber Silveira, according to the protocol, the Brazilian government would have to provide guidance to the chain for monitoring the pests that concern China, but it is not possible to do that for this crop corn because it already was harvested.
“The Chinese government informed the Brazilian government that it was free for this harvest to comply with all the protocol rules. But for 2023, it will have to comply”, Silveira told Estadão/Broadcast Agro.
According to the representative, quarantine pests are a worldwide concern, but the control of the 18 indicated in the protocol is possible.
“In the case of corn, we don't see any problem: it's a whim and there's no mistake. That doesn't scare us.”
Silveira, who was also president of Aprosoja, also highlighted the importance of exporting bran to China.
“If China buys bran, we will be able to increase crushing capacity,” he said.
According to him, China is increasingly concerned about guaranteeing the supply for the production of pork, poultry and eggs.
“You have to have soy and corn meal. China is getting ahead of it, even more so now with the stress with the US, from those who bought soy and had a deal for corn, and with the Ukraine issue,” she said. “Here in Brazil we have stability as an exporter.”
Sources: dinheirorural.com.br
