How did the Brazilian Agricultural revolution happen?
Is the growth sustainable?
Where are
#soybean
#corn
production & exports headed?
Much of what was said there - over 1yr ago - has already played out, i.e.:
✔️ “🇧🇷 will double 🇺🇸 soybean exports”
You don’t want to miss it
@LegionHoops
In order
Jimmy, Steph, Book, Harden
Steph/Jimmy interchangeable
Booker playing unreal - love his game - tough to upend Jimmy/Steph down the wire but a debate could be easily had
Does the world *NEED* another 160 MMT
#soybean
crop from Brazil?
Short answer: NO
Even if BR loses 30 - 35 MMTs (far fetched scenario today)...
...South America *COULD* still harvest a record crop above 20/21's 201 MMTs!
Let that one sink in... a little context goes a long way
#soybeans
- reminder that even with:
Brazil @ 140 MMTs (our current range is ~ 154 - 158)
&
Argentina @ 45 MMTs (current range 47 - 52)
South America would have a new record in
#soybean
production!
Context Matters
#soybeans
a little perspective goes a long way...
As it stands & despite the lower estimate today from USDA, this would be the 4th largest crop ever in the 🇺🇸, and a mere 1.5 MMTs or 60 mbs below last year's all-time record
Maybe, just maybe - markets are overreacting a tad ;)
🧵This morning
@GoddessofGrain
referred me a question on "how Brazil "makes"😄more land for agricultural production?"
This 👇🏻 is how: increase in land for
#grain
production comes mostly from pasture-land conversion. Potential for continued growth is underestimated by most...
#soybean
futures don’t like spending much time between $11-$13 historically..,
Brace for upcoming volatility
A retest of $13+ is still in the cards - but unless we see major surprises out of SA in next few weeks OR in the upcoming 🇺🇸
#plant24
summer crop:
< $11 2H24 ?!? ⚠️
🇧🇷 Safrinha
#Corn
- Safrinha "weather market" is basically done
- Seasonally rains stop for most of Center-North Brazil by end of April
- Ideally, farmers would like to see rains through April and early May - but unfortunately looks like not this yr
- That is already “baked in”
Opening calls
#CBOT
Soybeans +45c
Corn +30c
Wheat +35c
Oats +Triple Daily Limit
Disclaimer: no matter how much food we produce, world is running out of food (again); anyone that sells grains/oilseeds does not understand that‼️(sarc.) 👀
⚠️ Also disclaimer: not trading advice
Brazil's new soybean export record illustrated:
- 1st time ever over 90 MMTs
- record reached by OCT!!! 👀
- exports likely reach past 100 MMTs this yr
but yes... please keep making headlines about "port delays" and "Brazil's unfit infrastructure"... instead of actual results
The power 155 MMTs of soybeans:
(important context if one thinks world “needs” 🇧🇷 at 160+)
- 🇧🇷 exports reached a new record @ 90+ MMTs… by the end of Oct!!!
- 🇧🇷 will have its largest carryout ~ 8-10 MMTs in history - still ~ 20 MMTs unsold from 22/23 - harvest begins in Jan
The
#soybean
boat is sinking - & the permabulls are eerily quiet...
Seems now that even some of the permabulls are turning "bearish / neutral" - that's a warning sign as the ones late to the party could crowd the bearish side & temporarily flip the boat
Tech bounce soon?!?
It’s that time of year folks!
🇧🇷
#soybeans
22/23 plating window is now officially open…
We are likely headed for one of the best start in years.
Chart below offers great perspective & is a very important point of reference for any discussion regarding 🇧🇷 planting 🪟& pace
If you’re surprised by the move in
#corn
this week… well… don’t be.
There is ZERO fundamental reason for
#corn
#soybeans
to hold a rally in the CURRENT environment
Yes, we will see technical bounces, but unless we get a MAJOR change in supply and/or demand, rallies won’t hold
If you are buying
#soybeans
because you think 🇧🇷 is under siege & will not be able to export beans, I have a oceanfront property I can sell you at a huge discount in the middle of Mato Grosso 😉🤦🏻♂️👀
Thread 1/4)
#CONAB
Brazil
#Soybeans
Comments from an email I just wrote to a client:
“Not surprised with the estimate at 140.5 MMTs (which is exactly our pre-report estimate for Bloomberg - see pic). It’s just too early to reduce much more than that.”
Thread (10) on Brazil
#soybeans
& why the actual size of the crop no longer matters
✔️ It is now almost February & debate still rages on about the actual size of the 🇧🇷
#soybean
crop
✔️ That is no longer productive!
✔️ Focus should now be on EXPORTS
Read on for more details…
#soybeans
#corn
With FUNDS considerably long & 🇧🇷🇺🇸 producers quite undersold for both old / new crop, the "emergency exit" could get very tight when/if most try to exit at the same time ⚠️
The "risk management" exit meanwhile is wide open for those that choose a long term view
Land use in Brazil
✔️ Currently only ~8% used for agriculture
✔️ Pasture land (23% of total use) conversion main source of agricultural expansion
#soybeans
#corn
#Cotton
There are literally ZERO “fundamental” reasons to be long
#corn
#soybeans
#wheat
at this junction… zilch…
That said, I’ve been around the
#grain
markets long enough to know that nothing is “guaranteed”
When one side of the boat gets too crowded, LOOKOUT!
Shorts are crowded &…
BIG SHORTS 📢. Funds are now the shortest they've been across the
#agriculture
complex in 4.5 years (-617k contracts, -$14.4B) 📉, betting that soft demand, ample global supplies, and the strong dollar 💵 will keep prices down as we get deeper into risky planting weeks. 🚜🌽
When the Chargers went up 27-0, a bettor bet $1.4 million on them to win the game to net $11,200.
Jacksonville came back and won 31-30.
@DKSportsbook
has confirmed that this bet was indeed made.
Brazil's
#soybeans
shipment line-up for rest of '23 is
~7 MMTs
The long tail of 🇧🇷 soybean exports is definitely a major reason why U.S. export sales are trailing last year by 8+ MMTs & counting
🇧🇷 beans ~$60/ton cheaper than 🇺🇸 Feb fwd
🇺🇸 window for major soy exports is tight
Soybean fundamentals are at this point mostly - if not all - bearish
(which should bring caution for the bears… yes… for the bears)
- Supply: 🐻
- Demand: 🐻
- Wx: 🐻
- Macro: 🐻
But ⚠️… too many on one side of the boat & not 👀… bull could surprise even if only temporarily
Boy… by looking at some of these current headlines about Brazil
#soybeans
one would easily be fooled into thinking that 80% of the country’s crop is in awful shape 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
When reality is ~20% of the area has issues, from serious to mild, while ~80% is is absolutely great shape!
✔️
#soybeans
better Wx for 🇧🇷 next 2 wks accelerates harvest & beans to ports
✔️🇧🇷 beans considerably cheaper than 🇺🇸 (pic)
✔️🇺🇸 exp to severely lag next few months. Final 22/23 🇺🇸 exp likely between 1.9 - 1.95 bb
✔️🇧🇷 exp window extends into Oct - eats into 🇺🇸 23/24 exp. ⚠️
🧵 As a grain trader - it is important to understand that there is REALITY & there is PERCEPTION
You must accept that PERCEPTION (as ridiculous as it may sound most of the time) will often trump REALITY… in the short term
Longer term - REALITY wins
Did you know that Brazil only uses ~7% of its land for agricultural production?
Pasture land (23% of total area) conversion is the main source of agricultural area increase
The higher prices go/stay, the more incentive there is for prod. increase
#soybeans
#corn
#cotton
Brazil corn & soybeans🧵!
Don’t miss it!
🌽
#CORN
22/23 crop (just harvested) clocks in ~137 MMTs 👀
new record by nearly ~20 MMTs
22/23 🇧🇷 exports: 57+ MMTs!!!
For reference:
🇺🇸 finished 22/23 w/ 42 MMTs in exports (down from ~70 two yrs ago when 🇧🇷 exported only 20 MMT 👀)
Latest Brazil
#corn
#soybeans
production estimates,
MD Commodities:
🌱 Soybeans: 159.1 MMTs - still a record if confirmed & down
~15 MMTs from max potential
(range 155 - 165) *Dec Wx key*
🌽 Corn 117.2 - down 20 MMTs y/o/y but still tied 2nd largest ever
(range 110 - 125)
South America
#soybean
production currently estimated at a new record of 221 MMTs
by MD Commodities
- 𝟐𝟎 𝐌𝐌𝐓𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟐𝟎/𝟐𝟏
- 𝟐𝟕 𝐌𝐌𝐓𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐫
Likely range for final production is 210 - 228 MMTs
In
#commodity
trading, it is said that cash side of the market usually "tells the truth" / reflects reality much better than the futures side
Fwiw cash markets in Brazil, the largest producer & exporter of
#soybeans
in the🗺️are telling a much different story than CBOT futures🤔
Thread 1/7)
Here’s the real scoop on southern Brazil drought & potential impacts on
#soybeans
#corn
prod & exports…
✔️ yes, parts of RS & PR (2nd & 3rd largest
#soybean
producers) are dry w/ less than 1” (25mm) since late Nov
✔️ Southern tip of MS & W. SC also on drier side
IS THE GRAIN BEAR TIRED?!?
Are funds pressing the bear too hard with the South American crop yet to be determined?!
𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥 (𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘺 10+ 𝘔𝘔𝘛𝘴) 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯…
Soybean market MUST KNOWs:
✔️SA is in the rear view, priced in
✔️Funds got too short & are reducing exposure ahead of 🇺🇸 24/25 season (wise move)
✔️Market is highly technical & was “oversold”, rallies will happen
✔️Fundamentally however, market is still “structurally bearish”…
🧵 Brazil - China
#corn
A “done deal” for corn exports from 🇧🇷 to 🇨🇳 being reported
✔️ But is it really done?
✔️ If so, when would exports begin?
✔️ How much can 🇧🇷 export to 🇨🇳?
✔️ What does that mean for 🇺🇸 corn exports?
This and more below 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
Nice steady rains this morning in northern Paraná, after heavy rains last night in multiple regions in central/eastern half of the state, in southern Brazil 🇧🇷
Crops in this region of the state still have excellent production potential w/ more rains on the way
#soybeans
#corn
🇧🇷
#soybeans
now $35/ton cheaper than 🇺🇸 from Feb-fwd
✔️ Brazil to dominate
#soybean
exports through at least Sep.; longer if crop @ 137+ MMTs
✔️ 🇺🇸 window for larger exports virtually closed - max exports seen ~1.8-1.85bb, 200-250mb below USDA. Carryout @ 500+ mb (~13.5+ MMTs)
For those that still don’t understand why
#soybeans
are down hard despite the historic drought in regions of Brazil… see below 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
Post from 12/12/23 - you’re welcome!
#soybeans
- reminder that even with:
Brazil @ 140 MMTs (our current range is ~ 154 - 158)
&
Argentina @ 45 MMTs (current range 47 - 52)
South America would have a new record in
#soybean
production!
Context Matters
Brazil
#soybean
thread:
Sharing an email I wrote to a client this morning replying to a question about the situation in 🇧🇷
Just some more “factual perspective” about what is really happening with the bean crop in 🇧🇷, read on 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
Context: 🇧🇷 production could fall to 145-150 MMTs (far from a reality TODAY) & there’d still be too much beans in the world if 🇦🇷 has OK crop
However, weather mkt would ensue 1st with beans rallying hard towards $15+ as perception trumps reality in short term
@UCBearcat92
If rains don’t arrive as advertised around Nov 20th for Central 🇧🇷 beans will get ballistic & will lead meal 👀
That said, forecasts are in agreement & rains have migrated to 6-10 day period - something that was not happening before as rains kept getting pushed back - let’s see
The U.S.
#soybean
crop went through:
- one of the hottest & driest June on record
- hot & dry Wx to finish July
- hot & dry Wx in 2nd half of Aug
and yet prod. loss was ~10 MMTs or ~8%
a LOT still needs to happen before 🇧🇷 soy crop is down anywhere close 8% from max of 170+
Our updated Brazil
#soybean
production estimate:
✔️ Will MT score its 1st ever 40 MMT crop? Combines will tell us
(MT produces more than IA + IL + 1/2 MN 🇺🇸)
Lots still TBD in 🇧🇷 w/
#Wx
key over next 4 wks, esp. for RS.
(See link for more details)
Thread 1/4)
#CONAB
Brazil
#Soybeans
Comments from an email I just wrote to a client:
“Not surprised with the estimate at 140.5 MMTs (which is exactly our pre-report estimate for Bloomberg - see pic). It’s just too early to reduce much more than that.”
There is ZERO fundamental reason for
#soybeans
#corn
or
#wheat
to rally here. Literally ZERO.
That said, plenty of instances when ag commodities rally despite very heavy fundamentals
Powerful - but short lived - rallies can’t be ruled out, despite current fundamentals
#soybeans
#corn
We've had sort of a "perfect storm" in "headlines" this week to cause some mild short covering:
- USD down
- Talk of exaggerated soy losses in RGDS 🇧🇷
- Slow planting pace in 🇺🇸
- "better than expected" meal exports (in march)
- dryness for Safrinha in Brazil
This makes no sense.
The crop is 80%+ harvested.
New crop
#soybean
planting is literally 6 months away…
Let’s be careful with the narratives folks…
**The world is not running out of food** - not even close.
Brazil, the world’s largest producer of soybeans, purchases nearly half its potash fertilizer from Russia and Belarus. It has just three months of stockpiles left.
Now farmers are using less, if any, and the soybean crop, already hit by a drought, is likely to be even smaller.
#WheatUkraine
due to low wheat prices EX-Farm some ukr farmers adjusted to burn wheat in dryers to reduce corn moisture instead of gas, diesel or wooden pellets!
South America
#soybeans
1/6) “Weather Markets” in
#agriculture
are all very similar across the world; emotion takes over & often times issues are exaggerated & become the focus.
In SA particularly the story seems to play out very similarly every year in predictable fashion…
🤦🏻♂️
#soybeans
Folks… we’re doomed 🤦🏻♂️ - the 🇧🇷
#soybean
crop may not reach 155 MMTs 👀
It will “only” be ~ 150 MMTs, only 25 higher than last yr, only ~13 higher than previous record & will only allow for 95 MMTs of exports, 20 more than last yr 😵💫
What a headline! FFS! 😵💫🤦🏻♂️
@DDFalpha
will be joining myself,
@GoddessofGrain
@BenRand10
& others as we explore Brazilian Agriculture growth through the years & educate ourselves on fact vs fiction of what 🇧🇷 agriculture is really like
Tune in! 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
@TweetsbyCoachP
Best overall combination - not always necessarily “the best 5”.
The importance of the 6th / 7th man positions is seriously underrated and overlooked.
Brazil 🇧🇷
#soybeans
🚀🌱🚢 In astounding fashion, 🇧🇷 closes Feb w/ a confirmed 9.2 MMTs
#soybean
exports!
✔️ That is ~ 40% higher than the old record of 6.6 in Feb ‘20 & well above our estimate of 8-8.5 MMTs!
There is no shortage of soybeans in the world, despite the drought
Soybean market MUST KNOWs:
✔️SA is in the rear view, priced in
✔️Funds got too short & are reducing exposure ahead of 🇺🇸 24/25 season (wise move)
✔️Market is highly technical & was “oversold”, rallies will happen
BUT
✔️Fundamentally however, market is “structurally bearish”
215+ MMTs for South America on its way… what a yr!!
Previous record = 201
**That said, I believe this is already in the price at these levels and focus now will increasingly shift to 🇺🇸 24/25 campaign with very little “weather premium” built into prices & funds record short**
Article I wrote recently for
@Gaftaworld
- exploring the incredible growth in Brazil 🇧🇷
#corn
#soybean
exports
Also a “know your facts” session about where Brazilian agricultural land expansion really comes from
(hint: it’s not from the Amazon) 😉
Enjoy…
#soybean
bounce to be short lived?
Dry 🇦🇷 Wx for next 10-12 days offering some technical respite to soybean futures
Do rains return to ARG in early Feb? Forecasts say so
⚠️That said - it's difficult to turn outright bullish
#soybeans
when looking at demand & 🇧🇷 export basis
How much
#soybeans
can South America produce?
- If 🇧🇷 production falls to 150 MMTs (> 25 MMT loss), SA 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 still harvest a new record by ~10 MMTs
- 🇧🇷 @ 140 (>35 MMT loss)?
Still a new record for SA - see subtweet
**🇦🇷 @ 45 / 🇵🇾 @ 10 / 🇺🇾🇧🇴 @ 7**
Context...
Does the world *NEED* another 160 MMT
#soybean
crop from Brazil?
Short answer: NO
Even if BR loses 30 - 35 MMTs (far fetched scenario today)...
...South America *COULD* still harvest a record crop above 20/21's 201 MMTs!
Let that one sink in... a little context goes a long way
#Corn
Export Growth between 2000 - 2022:
🇺🇸 26.2%
🇧🇷 570.8% 👀
A few assumptions aside as in any longer term view -
**By 2025 (or even sooner) Brazil can take over (and likely maintain for years to come) the
#1
spot in corn exports in the world**
Want to talk grains “fundamentals”?!?
Ok - let’s go!
Under current S&D scenarios for 24/25
Corn ~ =< $4.25/bu
Soybeans ~ =< $10/bu
There’s an entire growing season ahead, Wx premium will not be entirely subtracted - yet - but corn & beans don’t need to be > $4.70 & > $12 either
#soybeans
#corn
Worrying about planting delays in April in 🇺🇸 is equivalent to worrying about “planting delays” in 🇧🇷 during Sep
History shows that aside from very few exceptions, it means absolutely nothing to final yield potential
1st half of May to tell the story
#plant22
✔️ Brazil exported ~ 2.1 MMTs of
#soybeans
in Jan; 2nd highest ever
✔️ Feb. exports very likely a new record at 7+ MMTs
✔️ Spread between 🇺🇸 vs 🇧🇷 beans narrowed considerably in last 2 weeks but 🇧🇷 beans still more competitive at least to June (no published 🇺🇸 offers JJA)
Corn & Soy Producers (who are still vastly undersold) likely get a crack at higher prices during the 🇺🇸 “weather market” as funds scramble to cover shorts at least once…
but be mindful that it’ll take a MAJOR crop failure to change underlying bearish long term fundamentals ⚠️
Here we are on May 20th with basically 70% of
#corn
& 50% of
#soybeans
planted and the vast majority of the focus is on *reducing yield* 🤦🏻♂️ due to “LaTe pLaNtiNg”…
…instead of the historically outstanding conditions present - soil moisture - for initial crop development 🌽🌱
PSA: Any take stating that 🇧🇷 will "greatly reduce"
#soybean
planted area next year due to either low prices or the "farmer bankruptcy" headlines making the rounds is INCREDIBLY wrong and simply shows a complete lack of knowledge of how agriculture really works in Brazil
Brazil
#corn
Did you know?
This year’s
#Safrinha
(second or “winter” corn crop in the country) could alone be 5+ MMTs higher than last year’s TOTAL corn production in 🇧🇷?
Weather in March/April will determine how high is high for Safrinha. We currently estimate it at ~90 MMTS!
This video illustrates well what happens in
#Brazil
🇧🇷 at this time where farmer harvests the soybeans and the corn or cotton planter comes right behind planting the
#safrinha
.
That’s why I say:
#Agro
never stops
#OAgroN
ãoPara
1) anyone that says anything close to “zero Safrinha” automatically disqualifies themselves from any sort of credibility
2) even with area reduction and lower expected yields - looking at 2nd or 3rd largest 🇧🇷
#corn
crop potentially
3) 🇦🇷 +25 MMTs in corn prod vs last yr
😉🤙🏻
This 🇺🇸 growing season is already doomed folks
Current conditions favor a mix of the following:
- 2019-like planting conditions
- followed by a 2012-like drought
- followed by a 2016 🇦🇷 style flood at harvest
Also:
- followed by a frost in 🇧🇷 during Sep-Dec
Subscribe now!
🇨🇳 soy imports could jump from 91.6 MMTs in 21/22 to ~98 MMTs in 22/23 (same level as 19/20)
Is that really "bullish" soybeans?
You decide...
Combined 🇺🇸🇧🇷
#soybean
production in 19/20 was 225 MMTs vs ~270 MMTs in 22/23
A 45 MMT prod. increase w/ no increase in imports 🤔
🇧🇷
#soybeans
- widespread rains have arrived for the 1st in a long while in the 🇧🇷 Cerrado
Wx models seem more in tune as the forecast have so far verified
It is imperative that this new wetter pattern sticks, as the forecasts currently show… all 👀 on the radar 🌧️🌦️
Context Matters:
#CORN
Yes, current delay in
#soybean
seeding in Brazil has already impacted the outlook for
#safrinha
corn
We estimate 🇧🇷 corn production ~117 MMTs, ~20 MMTs below last yr's record of 137
𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: see chart & sub-tweet
Thx
@moscarielloe
“🇦🇷 could harvest 55 MMTs of
#corn
in 23/24, up 22 MMTs from last year”
Indeed very likely, depending on Wx of course
For context:
S.A.🌽 production (MMTs)
22/23: 🇧🇷 137 + 🇦🇷 33 = 170
23/24: 🇧🇷 117 + 🇦🇷 55 = 172
SA remains dominant in corn exports in ‘24
#Soybeans
in a tech / $ flow driven rally. Quite amusing “market commentaries” trying to pin the move on “fundamentals”. Prices are very far from “fundamentals”...
At some point: fundamentals catch up to $ or prices have to fall back towards “fundamentals”
For now: enjoy the ride
The story on
#soybean
yields between the world's TOP 3 producers:
- 🇧🇷 holds current record @ 54 bpa
- 🇺🇸's yield record is ~2bpa lower @ 51.9
- 🇦🇷's record is still just under 50 bpa
- 🇺🇸 seems "due" for at least a "challenge" of 🇧🇷's 53.9 bpa record
Is 24/25 the year??!?