Saudi boosts imports of Brazilian corn by 151.7% 

(MENAFN) Rio de Janeiro-based BrazArtis' business development director, Jan Dabrowa, stated that Saudi Arabia has boosted its imports of Brazilian corn in the January-August period by 151.7 percent to 402,190 tons, reported Arab News.

Dabrowa said that the Latin American country has become one of the major producers and exporters of soybeans and corn globally, with the value of the country's agribusiness set to hit USD100 billion during the current year.

The country's grain harvest is forecasted to reach more than 180 million tons in 2012, compared with 170 million in 2011, with the soybean harvest alone for 2012/2013 set to jump by 20 percent to 81 million tons, from 66 million.

On the other hand, Brazil's maize output is expected to rise by 7 percent to 70 million tons from 66 million tons.

In the first 8 months of the year, Egypt boosted its imports of Brazilian maize by 899.4 percent to 902,550 tons, from 90,310 tons in 2011 last year.

It is worth noting that in 2012, exports of Brazilian soybeans are forecasted to grow 20 percent from a year ago to 17.5 million tons.