Brazil is expected to export a record 65 million tonnes of soya grains in 2018 although the country's overall output may fall, industry group Abiove said on Wednesday in its first forecast for next season. "With a good harvest and China's demand growing, Brazil will have the opportunity to export more," Fabio Trigueirinho, Abiove general secretary, told Reuters by telephone. Brazil could draw from existing stocks to fulfill next year's export forecast, he said.
The association also estimated domestic soya processing will reach 43 million tonnes next year, 1.5 million tonnes above the forecast figure for 2017, due to an expected increase in domestic demand to produce biodiesel from soya. Demand will likely increase as the government is slated to raise the percentage of biodiesel that is mandatorily blended with diesel, Trigueirinho said.