Brazilian soybean harvest for 2020-21 marketing year (February 2021-January 2022) carried on its slow pace due to recent rains, agricultural consultancy AgRural said Jan. 25.
Soybean farmers in the South American nation have been able to harvest only 0.7% of the projected acreage as of Jan. 21, compared with 4.2% last year, the consultancy said.
While the rainfall is extremely beneficial to the soybean crop’s early and middle-stage development, it hinders the maturity of late-staged planted beans.
The week ended Jan. 23 was marked by significant volumes of rain in much of Brazil’s soybean-producing areas, the consultancy said. The constant rain and the overcast conditions made it difficult to harvest the maturing soybeans, it added.
For the coming days, rains in South America are not showing any signs of relenting either.
Rains will remain active across Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Parana, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, which will continue to support corn and soy growth in these areas for the week ending Jan. 30, weather agency Maxar said Jan. 22.
HARVEST DELAY
According to analysts, Brazilian soybean harvest is expected to pick up pace in H2 February, almost a month’s delay compared with the five-year average.
Soybean planting in Brazil began at the slowest pace in a decade due to extremely dry conditions in September and October 2020. Consequently, the harvest has been delayed across the country.
The latest harvest data, which confirmed the sluggish progress, seems to have supported the US soybeans futures prices.
March soybean futures prices picked up 21 cents/bu since the release of harvest report 1200 GMT and were trading at $13.3488/bu at 1515 GMT Jan. 25.
Despite the harvest delay, Brazil is expected to produce an all-time high of 131.7 million mt of soybeans in 2020-21, according to AgRural.
If the weather continues to be favorable for late-planted soybean crops, the output forecast could be revised upward in February due to higher yield expectations in Rio Grande do Sul and Matopiba, the consultancy said.
