Brazil’s second corn harvest lags, now 27% complete -AgRural – Reuters News

10 de julho 2023 | Na Mídia, Reuters

Brazilian farmers have harvested through last Thursday 27% of the area planted for their second corn crop, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said on Monday, up 10 percentage points from the previous week but still lagging 2022 levels.

At the same time last year, 41% of the corn fields in Brazil’s center-south region had been reaped, the consultancy said in a statement.

AgRural last week increased its forecast for Brazil’s second corn crop by 5 million metric tons to 102.9 million metric tons citing favorable weather.

Second corn, which is planted after soybeans are sowed in the same fields, represents about 75% of Brazil’s national corn output in a given year and is mainly exported to various destinations in the second half of the year.

According to AgRural, top grain producing state Mato Grosso continues to lead the way in this year’s harvest, but also lagging behind the 2022 pace. Yields there have been “very good,” the firm added.

The consultancy noted that farmers in some regions of Parana and Mato Grosso do Sul states still fear that low temperatures and frost could hamper their yields ahead.

“But at this point, potential damages are not expected not incur great impact on the size of Brazil’s ‘safrinha’,” AgRural said. “Producers continue to expect high yields in basically the entire center-south region.”

Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of corn and soybeans.