World Grain - January 2021 - 18

COUNTRY FOCUS

016_WG_Jan21_CF.indd 18

(in 1,000 tonnes)

12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000

2019-20

2018-19

2017-18

2016-17

2014-15

2015-16

2020-21*

2,000

Production *Projected

Exports

Paraguayan corn exports - CY 2019
2.99 million tonnes

Brazil
S. Korea
Chile
Uruguay
S. Arabia
Other

7
8
8

million tonnes of corn, with the animal feed, seed and corn
flour sectors consuming the balance, " the report said. " Although feed demand in the livestock sector has been on the
rise, contacts indicate that much of that growth is being filled
by dried distiller's grains with solubles from Paraguay's two
large ethanol plants. "
Brazil is expected to receive about 50% of total corn exports, followed by South Korea, Chile and Uruguay, the report
said.
" In the past five years, these four markets have accounted
for approximately 80% of Paraguay's corn exports, " the attaché said.
Rice
According to the USDA attaché, Paraguay's rice production
will reach a record 750.000 tonnes in 2020-21 with farmers
encouraged to plant the crop by increasing profitability.
Consumption is expected to ease to 105,000 tonnes in 202021 after COVID-19 created strong demand in 2019-20.
" Once the pandemic is over, consumption is expected to

Source: US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service

Corn
Rotating corn with soybeans, instead of double-cropping soybeans, is growing more common in Paraguay due to positive
corn returns, which could see corn expansion continue an upward trend, the attaché said.
" Although the cost of producing corn, which ranges between $550 and $650 per hectare, is somewhat higher than
soybeans, farmers can still gain $70 to $100 more per hectare
with corn, " the attaché said.
The report explained that if the soybeans need to be sprayed
against rust, the advantage of growing corn is ever greater.
" The replacement of zafrinha soybeans with corn is occurring primarily in the southeastern region of the country, "
the report said. " However, sources report roughly 50,000 to
70,000 hectares of crops, much of it planted to corn, have also
been established in the Chaco region in northern Paraguay. "
The attaché forecast corn consumption in 2020-21 at a record 1.68 million tonnes, on the assumption of an economic
rebound in the animal feed and biofuel sectors following the
COVID-19 pandemic.
" Paraguay's bioethanol sector, consisting of two large and
five smaller bioethanol plants, normally consumes about 1

Paraguayan soybean production, exports

2013-14

Wheat flour consumption in Paraguay is historically consistent at approximately 60 kilos per capita, the attaché said.
Johnny Hildebrand, president of the Paraguayan milling
industry association Capamol and chief executive officer of
Hilagro Milling Co., told World Grain that there are 34 active
mills in the country, with 22 members in the association.
" We now have a milling capacity of 1,250,000 tonnes a
year (4,185 tonnes a day), " he said. " Milling is about 680,000
tonnes of wheat a year; that gives a capacity usage of 54%.
" At the time there is no imported flour in the market, and
the yearly flour export in 2019 was 21,489 tonnes and in 2020
the projection is about 12,000 tonnes. "
He put wheat production in 2020 at around 950,000 tonnes
on an area of 430,000 hectares.
" Brazil is expected to receive over 90% of exports, trucked
primarily to the state of Paraná, and to a lesser extent, the
states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, " the attaché said. " The remaining wheat exports, destined primarily
to northeastern Brazil, Bolivia and Vietnam, an increasingly
active export market since late 2018, will be barged via the
Paraná River to the Port of Rosario in Argentina or the Port of
Nueva Palmira in Uruguay for loading onto larger vessels. "
The attaché forecast 2020-21 wheat ending stocks at approximately 200,000 tonnes but said the final number will
depend on total exports.
" According to industry sources, Paraguay's typical range
of ending stocks is between 150,000 and 200,000 tonnes, "
the attaché said. " The milling industry rolls over 120,000 to
140,000 tonnes of 'old' wheat to blend with the new crop in
the first four months of the marketing year with the remaining stocks held by town elevators, producers and farmers with
saved seed. "

January 2021 / World Grain / World-Grain.com

1/20/2021 2:45:28 PM

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World Grain - January 2021

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