Brazil News

Brazil on a Grain Exporting Spree

Brazil is expected to export 11.9 million tonnes of soybeans in June, a 37% rise from the same month last year, as Chinese demand remains strong and ports operate normally amid the COVID-19 pandemic, industry group Anec said on Tuesday.Exports of corn from Brazil are seen at 774,850 tonnes in the month based on shipping data, Anec said in a report.Anec also raised its annual export projection for 2020 to 78 million tonnes of soybeans, up from a prediction of 73 million tonnes in April.Brazil’s July soy exports are predicted to be 7.25 million tonnes while corn sales abroad are estimated at 3.9

Chinese Demand Lifts Baltic Index to Record Weekly Gain

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry commodities around the world, posted its biggest weekly gain ever, underpinned by a rebound in global commodities trading as iron ore demand from China picked up.The 35-year old index, which reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax ships, has now surged nearly 300% since tumbling to a low of 393 points in May following a freeze in global trade due to coronavirus-led lockdowns."Most…

Baltic Index Sees Best Day Ever—Again

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index marked its largest single-day percentage rise on Thursday, as capesize vessel segment rates jumped 50% on strong iron ore demand.The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities and reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, rose 281 points, or about 22.6%, to 1,527, its highest since Dec. 10.The Baltic capesize index jumped 1,217 points, or 49.6%, to 3,672, its highest since Sept.

Baltic Index Logs Record Jump as Capesize Demand Spikes

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index recorded its biggest ever daily percentage jump on Wednesday, propelled by surging capesize rates due to a spike in iron-ore shipments.The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities and reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, rose 192 points, or about 18.2%, to 1,246, its highest since Dec. 17.The Baltic capesize index jumped 601 points, or about 32.4% to 2,455, its highest since Dec.

Indigenous Leaders Fear Amazon Soy Port Could be Conduit for COVID-19

As the coronavirus pandemic reaches deep into Brazil’s Amazon, a ceaseless stream of trucks carry soybeans and construction workers to an expanding port complex in the heart of the forest.Indigenous activists have opposed the Itaituba port in Pará state for nearly a decade, even before shipments began there in 2014.But now the pandemic and expansion works are fueling new fears about the port’s impact on traditional communities and the biodiversity riches of the Tapajós river.“There’s a flow of workers all the time. Nothing’s changed.

Sugar Shipping Rush Causes Huge Vessel Logjam in Brazil

More than 70 ships are lined up at Brazil's port of Santos to load sugar for export in a queue that may take a month to clear after buyers worldwide scrambled to get ahead of possible disruption caused by the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic.A large share of the global sugar trade turned to Brazil, which posted record output, and after poor harvests in India and Thailand. The South American nation now has, however, the second-most COVID-19 cases worldwide at more than 610,000.Three bulk carriers had loading operations suspended in recent weeks and faced a 14-day quarantine in Santos…

Dalian Exchange Calls for 'Rational' Iron Ore Trade

China's Dalian Commodity Exchange on Tuesday asked members to act "rationally" in iron ore futures trade after prices for the steelmaking ingredient held above $100 per tonne."The iron ore market has been facing many uncertainties recently," the Dalian bourse said on its website, adding that it would strengthen investigations and strictly crack down on any irregularities.Dalian's most traded iron ore futures contract, for September delivery, has jumped more than 8% since May 26 on concerns of tight supply from Brazil.It closed at 757 yuan ($106.62) per tonne on Tuesday.($1 = 7.0999 Chinese yua

Demand for Brazil Grains Rise as Argentine River Shipments Hit Snag

Global demand for Brazilian grains is growing as Argentina and Paraguay struggle with low water levels in a key river for agricultural shipments that is preventing ships from being fully loaded, a Brazilian trading company told Reuters on Thursday.Chief Executive Frederico Humberg of trading firm AgriBrasil said the company has sold three shipments of Brazilian corn where the buyer had initially sought to buy from Argentina."The buyer had purchased in Argentina, but ended up reverting to Brazil," Humberg said.Humberg said he knew of 10 shipments in total between AgriBrasil and other suppliers

Parched Parana River Likely to Hit Argentine Grain Exports through September

Shallow water in Argentina's Parana River will slow exports and hurt the country's soy crushing margins at least through September, officials said, as more cargo ships are needed to carry the same amount of commodities.Drought has pushed the Parana to its lowest level in decades, complicating transportation and soymeal production.An increasing number of ships are running aground and higher costs are pressuring margins at the giant soy crushing plants that make Argentina the world's top exporter of livestock feed…

China Bought 10+ Cargoes of Brazilian Soy This Week

China has bought over 10 cargoes of Brazilian soy this week, as its trade tensions with the United States continue to rise causing Beijing to look towards securing supplies, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.Brazil is the top supplier of soybeans to China, the world's biggest buyer of the beans.The development comes amid increasing tensions between the United States and China over the handling of the coronavirus outbreak and the more recent Chinese proposal of imposing national security laws in Hong Kong, to add to the long-standing trade war between

Loading Resumes at Brazil Port After Ship Quarantined

Soybean loading operations were set to resume late on Tuesday at a berth at Brazil's Paranaguá port after a ship was ordered into quarantine following a positive COVID-19 test on a crew member, authorities said.Loading at the berth was halted after the positive test, the Williams shipping agency said, adding that it was the first confirmed case of the disease at the port since the coronavirus outbreak began.All other berths at the port continued to operate as normal.Brazil's health surveillance agency ANVISA later authorized the ship to leave berth 214 after all other crew members were tested,

China's April Soybean Imports from Brazil Rise 2.6%

China's soybean imports in April from top supplier Brazil rose 2.6% from a year earlier, customs data showed late Monday, as the South American country could ship more cargoes owing to better weather conditions.China, the world's top soybean buyer, brought in 5.939 million tonnes of the oilseed from Brazil in April, up from 5.786 million tonnes last year, according to the General Administration of Customs data detailing the origin and destinations of commodity shipments.April's imports from Brazil were also almost triple March arrivals of 2.099 million tonnes, which had seen severe cargo delay

Brazil Maritime Trade Surplus Widens

Brazil recorded a $19.7 billion maritime trade surplus in the first four months of the year as imports by value fell as the real currency weakened and exports of agriculture goods remained strong, a port operators group said on Monday.The surplus is 14.56% wider than in the same period of 2019 despite the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus, which has disrupted transport systems worldwide, said ATP, which represents Brazilian private-sector terminal operators including miner…

Collapsed Riverbank Disrupts Argentina's Exports

Ships transporting cargo from Argentina's Rosario grain hub through the Parana River are having to reduce their cargoes after a bank collapse obstructed the navigation channel, exporters told Reuters.Dredgers are working in the Parana to the south of the Rosario complex to try to restore the necessary depth of water for export traffic, but at present have no estimate of when normal operations on the grains superhighway can resume."Ships cannot leave because they do not have the adequate safety margin…

David Roodenburg Takes Over as Huisman CEO

David Roodenburg is the third generation from the Roodenburg family to become CEO of the Netherlands-based equipment manufacturer Huisman.His father, Joop Roodenburg, is currently active as President after he appointed Theo Bruijninckx CEO in April 2018, with the objective to prepare the company for the next generation. Bruijninckx will remain active in Huisman in his role as the company’s CFO.Since 1980, Huisman has been owned and led by the Roodenburg family, growing from 20 employees to 2,000 to date.

Retreating Chinese Steel Stockpiles a Positive for Iron Ore Demand -EastGate

Chinese steel stockpiles reached record highs amid the coronavirus outbreak, but are now steadily easing. This paints the picture of an increased construction activity and a growing seaborne demand for the key dry bulk commodity of iron ore, says EastGate Shipping Inc. Demand returning to normal levelsSteel inventories in China have been showing a steady downward trend following the all-time highs recorded in mid-March. The virus crisis triggered a nationwide lockdown halting most manufacturing and industrial activities. Subsequently, demand for steel products was negatively affected.

Saudi, Russia Closing in on Record Oil Cut Deal

OPEC and it allies held talks on Thursday on record oil output curbs of about 15 million barrels per day (bpd) or more, roughly 15% of global supplies, to support prices hammered by the coronavirus crisis, sources involved in the discussions said.They said the plan included cuts of about 5 million bpd from producers outside the group known as OPEC+ and could be made gradually, as the group seeks to overcome resistance from the United States whose involvement they see as vital to a deal.Talks have been complicated by friction between OPEC leader Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC Russia…

Clipper Bulk Cuts Staff amid 'Historically Low Freight Markets'

Dry bulk operator Clipper Bulk announced it will reduce onshore staff in an effort to narrow costs amid historically low freight markets dragged down by the coronavirus pandemic.“The dry cargo market has struggled with unsustainably low freight rates for years, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made matters worse and caused a steep downturn in demand and freight rates. We need to adapt to this new reality, and we are making these changes to stay ahead of the situation,” said Clipper Group CEO Peter Norborg.The company said Thursday it will cut 24 out of 91 jobs ashore by the end of April…

OPEC+ Outlines Record Oil Production Cut; Mexico Balks

OPEC, Russia and other allies outlined plans on Thursday to cut their oil output by more than a fifth and said they expected the United States and other producers to join in their effort to prop up prices hammered by the coronavirus crisis.But the group, known as OPEC+, said a final agreement was dependent on Mexico signing up to the pact after it balked at the production cuts it was asked to make. Discussions among top global energy ministers will resume on Friday.The planned output curbs by OPEC+ amount to 10 million barrels per day (bpd) or 10% of global supplies…

Three of Five Converted VLOCs Are No Longer Operating -BIMCO

Converted very large ore carriers (VLOC) are increasingly becoming a thing of the past with the long-term freight contracts coming to an end as newer and more reliable ships replace them in the market. Since June 2017, 43% of the VLOC fleet have been sent to the scrapyards, while 18% of the fleet is idled or damaged.“The tragic Stellar Daisy accident brought the safety aspect of VLOCs into question. Now, three years on, three out of five VLOCs are no longer in operation as their long-term charters have now expired.

China's Soybean Imports Slide 12%

China's April soybean imports fell 12% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Thursday, with analysts citing the impact of bad weather delaying cargoes from top supplier Brazil.China, the world's top soybean buyer, brought in 6.714 million tonnes of the oilseed in April, down from 7.64 million tonnes a year ago, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.Rains in late February held back the harvest and exports in Brazil, leading to record-low levels of soybeans and soymeal in China…

China's Iron Ore Imports Jump in April

China's iron ore imports in April rose 11.4% from a month earlier on robust demand from steelmakers, as downstream sectors started to emerge from lockdowns to contain the coronavirus epidemic.Arrivals of the steelmaking ingredient were 95.71 million tonnes last month, data released on Thursday by the General Administration of Customs showed.That compares with imports of 85.91 million tonnes in March and 80.77 million tonnes a year earlier, when shipments from Brazil's top miner Vale SA were disrupted after a tailings dam disaster.In the first four months of 2020…

Brazil's Itaqui Port Open Despite Lockdown, Grain Shipments Up

Brazil's Itaqui port, from where more than 10% of the country's soybeans were exported in 2019, has not been affected by lockdown measures imposed this week in Maranhão state, said Ted Lago, the port's president, on Thursday.Port activity is considered exempt from the order and personnel, rail services and trucks continue to have normal access, Lago said, adding that grain export volume is set to rise thanks to the resilience of the domestic farm sector. (Reporting by Ana Mano Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Brazil Agrees to Raise Level of the Parana River

Brazil has agreed to release water at the giant Itaipu hydroelectric dam to raise low water levels in the Parana River, a key thoroughfare for grains shipments, Argentina's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.Decade-low water levels on the Parana are forcing Argentine exporters to load less soy and other grains on ships bound largely for China, adding a new problem to a sector already beset by bottlenecks due to the coronavirus pandemic.The agreement with Brazil will allow for an additional 1,400 cubic meters of water flow to be added to the river, the ministry said in a statement.

Brazil Soybean Exports Hit Record in April

Brazilian soybean exports in April reached 16.3 million tonnes, an all-time record for a single month and an increase from 9.4 million tonnes in same month last year, according to average daily export data released on Monday by the government.The previous record was 12.35 million tonnes, set in May 2018. Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of soybeans, had shipped 11.64 million tonnes of soybeans in March, according to government data, as local farmers finish collecting yet another bumper crop.(Reporting by Roberto Samora Ana Mano)

National WISTA Associations Offer Free Membership for Seafarers

The Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association announced a new initiative aimed at helping seafarers.WISTA Norway, WISTA UK, WISTA Singapore, WISTA Brazil, and WISTA Argentina have come together to offer free WISTA membership for seafarers through August 31, 2020. Membership allows seafarers to access the largest network of female managers in the shipping industry, as well as online seminars, webinars and workshops. The idea for the project came from WISTA Norway.Pia Meling…