UPDATE 2-Bianchini halts Brazilian plant as floods hit, 100,000 tons of soy at risk

(Adds details)

By Ana Mano

SAO PAULO, May 10 (Reuters) - Family-owned Brazilian soy crusher and soy byproducts exporter Bianchini was forced to halt operations at its Canoas plant in Rio Grande do Sul state amid severe flooding, Corporate Director Gustavo Bianchini told Reuters on Friday.

The company makes soymeal and soyoil and also produces biodiesel for sale on the domestic market.

Bianchini confirmed an adjacent warehouse with 100,000 tons of soybeans was also flooded at the company's Canoas facilities, which are close to the Sinos river and north of state capital Porto Alegre.

It is unclear how much product can be saved from the warehouse because waters have not come down yet, Bianchini said. He explained flooding caused the grain to swell up inside the storage facility, making the beans "double in size" when the water was at its highest.

Speaking by telephone, Bianchini verified the authenticity of a picture circulating on social media showing soybeans pouring through the facility's breaking walls.

Bianchini said the company's Rio Grande soy crushing plant and a nearby port terminal in the south of the state were operating normally, even as weather forecasters predict heavy showers for the region in coming days. He added that 70-80% of all soymeal exported out of Rio Grande do Sul passes through Bianchini's Rio Grande terminal.

Earlier on Friday, Bunge said it halted a soy crusher in Rio Grande for fear of flooding. Bunge's plant neighbors Bianchini's, the executive said.

As rains fail to let up, more problems await soy farmers, traders and processors in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil's second biggest soy producer after Mato Grosso state.

All companies are suffering because roads are blocked and excess moisture impedes farmers from reaping what's left of the soy in the fields, Bianchini said.

Bianchini's management plans to resume production at the Canoas plant when waters recede. Currently, the water is estimated to be between 30 cm and 70 cm high, Bianchini said.

Carlos Cogo, a grains analyst, said soy in flooded warehouses will likely be lost or have to be reclassified as low quality.

Bianchini said its losses would have been greater if the company's two Canoas warehouses were full. They can hold approximately 400,000 tons, he said.

The company's Canoas plant employs about 350 people and 80% of the workforce lives in the neighborhood. Some went to shelters as their homes were also completely inundated, Bianchini said.

The plant has the capacity to process 2,500 tons of soybeans per day and sends soymeal by barge to be exported out of Rio Grande port.

Bianchini's Rio Grande unit crushes 3,400 tons per day, the executive said. (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jan Harvey, Kirsten Donovan)