BRASILIA, April 20 (Reuters) - Brazil's government has no plans to either halt or slow exports of soy, its single most valuable agricultural export, the agriculture ministry said on Friday after such rumors sent Chicago soy futures to a 7-1/2 month high.
The grains market was abuzz with talk that this year's smaller soy harvest in Brazil, which was shrunk by a long spell of drought, had prompted the world's No. 2 soy producer to impose an export ban or restriction.
"Absolutely not. The government didn't take any decision which would restrict soy exports," Benedito rosa, director of commercial affairs at the Agriculture Ministry said.
The head of the National Association of Grains exporters, Anec, Sergio Mendes, told Reuters it was an unfounded rumor and that Brazil continued seeking to maximize its shipments of the oilseed.
