Brazilian farmers have harvested 53% of the soybean area planted for 2022/23 through last Thursday, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said on Monday, up 10 percentage points from the previous week.
At the same time last year, 64% of the Brazilian soy fields had been reaped, said AgRural.
In Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, the first harvested areas confirm crop failure due to a severe drought, with yields up to 60% lower than initially expected, according to the consultancy.
Soy harvesting delays have pushed back planting of Brazil’s second corn, the data showed.
According to AgRural, 81% of the estimated area for the Center-South of Brazil has so far been planted with second corn, against 70% last week and 94% a year ago.
Brazil’s second corn is sowed after soy is reaped in the same areas, and represents around 75% of national production in a given year.
Second corn sowing work is virtually finished in Mato Grosso, Brazil’s biggest farm state, and has made progress in other states in recent days.
But there is still a significant delay in some areas, especially in Mato Grosso do Sul, AgRural said.