China’s COFCO projects bigger Brazil soy, corn harvests in 2025

China’s COFCO International projects a potential increase of Brazilian soybean and corn harvests in the 2024/25 cycle while also gearing up to advance the expansion of a key port terminal next year, positioning it as one of the largest grain exporters in the country.

In written answers to Reuters on Tuesday, Luiz Noto, the company’s new CEO for grains and oilseeds in Brazil, said the firm would begin operating the first phase of the new terminal in the port of Santos, Latin America’s largest, in the first half of 2025.

When phase two is completed, in 2026, the company’s export capacity will increase from 4.5 million to 14 million tons.

“COFCO has enormous growth potential and a robust plan to become increasingly relevant in the markets in which it operates throughout Latin America, especially in Brazil,” Noto said in an email.

Its enlarged terminal will mainly ship soybeans and corn, but the company could also used it to exports coffee, sugar and cotton, he said.

Noto, appointed in May to lead COFCO’s local grains and oilseeds division, had worked at rival ADM ADM.N for 21 years. He said COFCO will continue to invest in Brazil with a focus on combining increasing origination capacity with long-term sustainable growth.

Brazil, the largest global producer and exporter of soybeans, had the potential to harvest around 170 million tons of the oilseed in 2024.

But a severe drought in the Center-West and excessive rains in the South reduced output to 152.5 million tons, according to data from oilseed lobby Abiove for 2023/24.

In the case of corn, a smaller planted area and lower yields mean lower production volumes and exports.

Despite smaller-than-anticipated soy production, Noto said overall Brazilian soybean exports are doing well in 2024, citing “stronger accumulated exports compared to 2023” without providing details.

“As for corn exports, our numbers show a lower export volume for 2024 compared to 2023, mainly due to a smaller harvest and stronger domestic demand for ethanol use,” Noto said.

Tags: China, harvest, corn, export, COFCO, Brazil, soybeans, порт, терминал