Drier weather in parts of Brazil’s Center-West allowed the 2020/2021 soybean harvest to gather momentum last week after disruptions caused by excessive rainfall, according to agribusiness consultancy AgRural on Monday.

As of Feb. 4, Brazilian farmers had managed to double the area harvested to 4%, from 2% in the previous week. Yet harvesting is still way behind historical averages for this time of the season, the consultancy said.

Last year, farmers had reaped 16% of the cultivated area at around this time, according to AgRural calculations.

Because of planting delays and the rains that have recently disrupted work in top grain states like Mato Grosso, the pace of harvesting is the slowest in 10 years, according to AgRural.

The situation reduced product availability and shipment of soybeans via Brazil’s main ports, giving an edge to soy farmers in rival exporters such as the United States.

Com informações da Reuters