Brazil Soybean Transportation: Higher Farm Prices Offset Rises in Transportation Cost

摘要

In June, the Brazilian soybean harvest season ended, reaching an estimated record of 75.3 million metric tons (mmt), helped by high yields and favorable weather conditions. The 2010/11 national grain production reached 161.5 mmt as Brazilian farmers planted more cotton, beans, soybeans, and rice. This record crop, limited port capacity, and lack of alternative transportation modes and routes to export ports, drove truck rates during the first half the year. During the 2nd quarter, the cost of shipping a metric ton (mt) of soybeans 100 miles by truck in Brazil increased 16 percent to US $12.52, from US $10.77 at the same time last year. Farm prices in Mato Grosso (MT) increased more than 40 percent from last year, lowering transportation as a percentage of total landed cost by 18 percent. Transportation as a percentage of total landed cost from Brazil to Shanghai declined 18-26 percent; shipping to Hamburg declined 5-25 percent. Brazilian soybean exports from January-June dropped slightly from last year as producers spread out their sales throughout the year.