Brazilian soybean harvest begins, record crop expected: Agrural – AgriCENSUS

13 de janeiro 2020 | Na Mídia

Brazil’s soybean harvest has reached 0.4% of the projected 2019/20 area as of January 9, as the country’s crop is expected to breach the USDA’s 123 million mt forecast amid higher yields in core growing regions, Curitiba-based consultants Agrural said Monday.

At 0.4%, this is lagging the 2.1% reached by the same week last year, and is also down slightly on the five-year average of 0.7%, with harvesting primarily restricted to the state of Mato Grosso.

Production is expected to hit 123.9 million mt, a new record for Brazil and up 1.7 million mt on the December estimate.
Yields are expected to come in at higher levels in some states with good weather conditions in Mato Grosso – the country’s largest producing region – set to improve production.

“Expected yields increased in most states, especially Parana and Goias … [and] Mato Grosso, which has had predominantly favourable weather conditions since October, is expected to have record productivity,” Agrural said.

But because of delays to planting in some states because of irregular rainfall between September and November, the production figures might still change, Agrural added.
At 123.9 million mt, this is 900,000 mt higher than the official USDA estimate and comes after Brazil’s food statistics agency Conab moved its estimate up by 100,000 mt to 122.2 million mt earlier this month.

First crop corn suffers from dry spell

While the outlook for beans is for a bumper crop, corn has had to ensure persistently-dry weather in the south of the country looks set to hamper production.

Production for the country’s first crop is forecast to hit 24.8 million mt, down from the 25.6 million mt forecast in December because of drier weather in the southernmost growing region that has harmed the development of the crop.

“The cut is due to hot and dry weather that has plagued Rio Grande do Sul’s crops, where production is now estimated at just 4.3 million mt, the lowest since 2011/12,” Agrural said.

Further cuts may be made next month as rainfall continues to remain elusive, Agrural added.

Total corn production for 2019/20 comprising the first and second crops is forecast at 98.5 million mt, down 1.5 million mt from the 2018/19 campaign.