Brazil farmers harvest 77% of 2023 second corn crop -AgRural – Reuters News

21 de agosto 2023 | Na Mídia, Reuters

Brazilian farmers had harvested 77% of the area planted for their second corn crop in the center-south region by Aug. 17, consultancy AgRural said on Monday, up 6 percentage points from the previous week.

Work in the fields still lags behind the previous season, when at the same time 89% of Brazilian corn fields had been reaped, the consultancy said in a statement.

AgRural said that farmers in Mato Grosso, Brazil’s top grain-producing state, have already finished harvesting their crop, while fieldwork in neighboring Goias state also nears the end.

“In other states, the harvest is delayed because of high grain humidity levels and/or late planting,” AgRural said. “But there has been good progress in Mato Grosso do Sul.”

A second agribusiness consultancy, Patria AgroNegocios, on Friday had estimated Brazil’s corn harvest at 78%, lagging both the previous season and the long-term average for the period.

Patria said rains had hampered activity last week and more showers were forecast to hit the center-south region this week.

The second corn crop, which is planted after soybeans, represents about 75% of Brazil’s national corn output in a given year and is mainly exported in the second half of the year.

AgRural forecasts Brazil’s total corn crop to reach 135.4 million metric tons in 2022/23, with the second crop totaling 105.6 million tons.

The consultancy noted that farmers in southern Brazil have already started sowing fields for their first 2023/24 corn crop, with 4.6% of the total estimated area planted by late last week, above the 1.8% seen a year ago.

“Above-average temperatures and rainfall in some areas have favored planting in Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, the only states with planting equipment in the fields so far,” it added.