Brazil's farmers dump sugar for soy as trade war boosts Chinese demand

Shifting trade flows are redefining the Brazilian landscape, spurring more farmers to align their crops with Chinese appetites. The nation’s soy plantings have expanded by 2 million hectares in two years - an area the size of New Jersey - while land used for cane shrank by nearly 400,000 hectares, according to government data. China’s growing demand for meat has supercharged soy imports for animal feed. The Asian nation paid $20.3 billion last year for 53.8 million tonnes of soybeans from Brazil, nearly half its output — and up from 22.8 million tonnes in 2012.A new 25 percent Chinese tariff on U.S. soybeans - a retaliation for U.S. levies by President Donald Trump - is expected to boost Brazil’s soy exports to an all-time record this year.Brazilian soybean exports to China rose to nearly 36 million tonnes in the first half of 2018, up 6 percent from a year ago. In July, they surged 46 percent from the same month a year earlier to 10.2 million tonnes.