BRASILIA/SAO PAULO: Brazil's government has no plans to either halt or slow exports of soy, its single most valuable agricultural export, the agriculture ministry said on Friday after such rumors sent Chicago soybean futures to a 7-1/2 month high.
Private sector representatives also dismissed talk that shipments of the oilseed would be disrupted from the world's No. 2 producer.
The grains market was abuzz on Friday with talk that this year's smaller soy harvest in Brazil, which has been reduced by a long spell of drought, had prompted the country to impose an export ban or restriction. See:
"Absolutely not. The government didn't take any decision which would restrict soy exports," Benedito Rosa, director of commercial affairs at the Agriculture Ministry said.
The idea that Brazil might had taken such action helped push CBOT May soybeans 31 cents higher to $14.46-3/4 per bushel on Friday.
On the private sector side, Sergio Mendes, head of the National Association of Grains exporters, Anec, dismissed the talk.
"The rumor doesn't have the slightest foundation. On the contrary, Brazil continues steady in its aim to maximize soy exports," Mendes said.
Private Brazilian grains analyst Celeres said last week that sales of the 2011/12 crop had reached 72 percent of total expected production of 67.9 million tonnes.
A senior industry source asked recently about whether a smaller crop could lead to some private suppliers defaulting on contracts for lack of physical produce said this was highly unlikely as they tended to forward sell conservatively.
The drought which afflicted Brazil's southern grains-producing states was long and harsh and though the weather has improved, analysts have continued to trim their forecasts for the soy crop as the extent of the damage is seen.
The agriculture ministry has forecast a soy harvest of 65.6 million tonnes, down from 75.3 million tonnes last year, a year-on-year drop of 13 percent. Ironically, Brazil's biggest soy state, Mato Grosso, escaped the drought and achieved record output this year. But losses were heavy in southern states.
China is the single biggest buyer of Brazil's soy, an important source of protein that is also used to produce animal feed.
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