The rate at which soybeans are being planted in Brazil is slowing and is now on course to be the slowest in a decade, consultancy AgRural said last week.

Soy plantings across the nation have reached just 3.4% on the back of scorching weather and poor soil moisture as farmers wait for rain.

A week earlier, just 1.6% of the area was planted, indicating a snail-like pace for planting.

This time a year ago more than 11% of the seed was in the ground, indicating that the rate at which planting is falling behind the norm is accelerating.

The biggest problem is in the country’s biggest producing state of Mato Grosso, where the state’s farm statistics body said just 3% of the crop was in the ground versus 19% last year and an average of 16.6% for the past three years.

As Mato Grosso is generally the first state to plant and export, the news of late planting is likely to continue to steepen the inverse in the market, with prices for February and March likely to rise in relation to later shipments next year.

In terms of the first corn crop, 39% is in the ground, the Parana-based consultants said – a figure that compares with 45% at this point last year.