By Ana Mano
SAO PAULO (Reuters) -A cargo of Louis Dreyfus Company soymeal destined for export from the southern Brazilian port of Paranagua was returned for reprocessing at one of the company’s local plants, the grain processor told Reuters on Wednesday.
LDC declined to provide details such as the timeline of the refusal, the size of the cargo and destination, or the nature of the issue with the cargo.
However, a person with knowledge of the matter said LDC’s soymeal was sent by trucks to the port but subsequently rejected last week for containing impurities.
Brazil’s ability to track agricultural commodities cargoes has come under heightened scrutiny after China suspended five local soybean exporters, citing product non-conformities earlier this month.
“The Louis Dreyfus Company clarifies that, with regard to the aforementioned cargo, given the absence of any type of adulteration or harmful agents, it carried out the procedure established in current legislation, returning the cargo for reprocessing,” the company said in a statement.
The port authority said since January, 44 trucks loaded with soymeal have been turned down due to the presence of extraneous materials such as sticks and pieces of unprocessed soybeans.
The port declined to name the companies responsible for the cargoes. In this case, there was no need to dispose of the loads, which may be returned to the origin for removal of the impurities.
Confirmation that LDC’s soymeal has been refused came after authorities at the port of Paranagua disclosed that 51 separate truck-loads carrying 2,200 tons of soymeal were rejected for “product adulteration”, without naming the companies involved.
LDC said none of its soy processing plants in the states of Parana, Mato Grosso and Goias had sent allegedly contaminated soymeal products to Paranagua.
The source said the soymeal cargo’s origin was LDC’s factory in Ponta Grossa in the state of Parana.
(Reporting by Ana Mano in San Paulo; Editing by Nia Williams and Jamie Freed)
