ARGENTINA UNAFFECTED BY BRAZIL'S MAIZE DECISION

  A government official said that a
  decision by Brazil not to import maize because it forecast a
  record harvest would not affect Argentina's exports.
      "We have heard nothing about this, but if Brazil has decided
  not to import maize that is no problem for us as it is not one
  of our main customers," Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries
  Under-Secretary Miguel Braceras said.
      Private sources also said Argentina's exports would not be
  affected by Brazil's decision, which Agriculture Minister Iris
  Resende announced yesterday in Sao Paulo.
      Brazil had not asked for any Argentine maize, they said.
      They also said a smaller crop and adverse weather this
  summer in Argentina had reduced production.
      Braceras said that last year Brazil bought 800,000 tonnes
  of Argentine maize but in some years it had not imported any
  from Argentina.
      The Soviet Union was Argentina's main customer and Japan
  was also becoming a bigger importer of the country's maize, he
  said.
  

