Brazil to import less wheat in 2015 –Reuters

Brazil's wheat imports are projected to drop 13.5 percent this year to around 5 million metric tons, in response to lower domestic use and higher Brazilian production, wheat industry group Abitrigo said this week in a Reuters story.

Brazil, one of the world's largest wheat importers, bought 5.78 million tonnes in 2014, according to Abitrigo, mostly from Argentina.

Cumulative imports this year up to August were 3.3 million tonnes, 20 percent below volumes seen in the same period last year. Argentina accounted for 2.7 million tonnes of that, followed by the United States with 300,000 tonnes.

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Abitrigo's president Sergio Amaral said the recent slide of the Brazilian real against the dollar should add to factors affecting wheat imports this year and help reduce volumes, since imports become more expensive for local mills.

Amaral said Brazil's overall wheat consumption, including local production, should fall around 3 percent this year as the industry suffers amid the country's worst recession in 25 years.