Brazil made its first sorghum export to China in January, according to Brazilian government data. The export of 25,830 tonnes was the first to the Asian country in more than ten years after commercial establishments were authorised to export the cereal to China in November last year.

The last time China purchased Brazilian sorghum, in 2014, the volume purchased throughout the year totalled 1,374.5 tonnes. In 2013, the Asian country purchased just over 5,000 tonnes, according to Brazilian government data. After that, official information no longer identifies sales of sorghum from Brazil to China.

There are expectations that volumes will increase as China seeks to diversify its supply of raw materials for animal feed production. The executive director of the Brazilian Association of Corn and Sorghum Producers (Abramilho), Glauber Silveira, said that the expectation is that the Chinese will start buying Brazilian sorghum after measures were taken to resolve China's phytosanitary concerns, which allowed exporters to supply sorghum to China.

(Source: Forbes, on 19 February)