Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) has emerged as one of the major beneficiaries of Brazil’s surge in soybean exports due to the US-China trade war.
It had one of the highest increases in soybean exports out of the South American nation in the January-November period, compared to a year earlier, reported Reuters.
LDC boosted overall exports by just over 30% to 10.5mt, according to data from agency company Williams Shipping.
This corresponds to about 13% of Brazil’s total soybean exports in the period, the data showed.
Luis Barbieri, oilseeds head for LDC’s Brazilian unit, told Reuters that the result reflected investments made by the commodities trading firm, particularly in logistics, and the quality of its relationship with Brazilian farmers.
Bunge was the largest exporter out of Brazil in the period, with shipments reaching 16.6mt, up 9%, according to Williams data.
Brazilian soy sales to China have soared because of the trade war between Asia’s largest economy and the US, the top global producer of the oilseed.
US soybeans accounted for around 34% of total Chinese soybean imports in 2017, but have effectively ground to a halt, according to Banchero Costa’s latest weekly report.
“The world’s largest exporter Brazil has thus seen an extended peak season this year, as high shipment volumes of 6.5-9mt per month to China stretched from May to October according to Chinese customs data,” it said.
“However, there are concerns that Brazilian supplies may be unable to fully cover the supply gap, thus spurring Chinese buyers to also source soybeans from other suppliers such as Argentina and Canada.”
LDC says it operates a fleet of more than 200 vessels servicing global destinations for its own business and third-party customers.
Its chartered fleet include a variety of vessels, spanning from smaller, 3,000-dwt river barges up to Newcastlemax-size bulkers.
It also boasts a substantial logistics set-up with a number of ports and terminals across Africa, Asia and South America.
LDC is the ‘D’ of the so-called ABCD majors – including Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge and Cargill – which dominate agricultural commodity flows.
