Brazil’s soybean planting reached 87% of the estimated area in the 2022/2023 cycle amid dryness on some farms in the central-west that has producers worried, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said on Monday.

Although planting is slightly behind last season’s pace, Brazil is poised to reap a bumper crop based on historical yield trends and estimated planted acreage size, AgRural said.

The data show that Brazil, the world’s largest soybean supplier, will likely remain a competitive exporter serving countries such as China.

In only four states – Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Piaui and Pará – soybean planting remains below 70% of the area. But this is due more to differences in planting schedules in those regions than to any delay in work, according to AgRural.

“In the Midwest, where planting is virtually complete, rains last week continued to be erratic,” AgRural said in a statement. “This is increasing concern in areas that have been dry for the longest time, especially as temperatures are rising.”

In the southern part of the country, oilseed producers also expect rainfall levels to improve.

Based on historical yield trends and a 4% expansion in planted area – to more than 43 million hectares (106.2 million acres) – AgRural projects Brazilian soybean production at 150.5 million tons in 2022/2023.

Starting next month, AgRural plans to visit farms across the country to better examine crop conditions and potentially update projections.

Summer corn is 88% planted in Brazil’s south-central states, AgRural said, referring to the country’s top corn that accounts for about 25% of production in a given year.

Last year at this time, first corn planting had reached 93% of the area.

In general, first-crop corn planting in Brazil was carried out without major problems, but the shortage of rainfall in certain areas has some farmers “on alert”, AgRural pointed out.