China 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 ...