Brazil: Corn, Soya Production Records
12 March 2007 The figure for corn is 2 million tons higher than was expected last month, and 6.3 million higher than 2005/06. The harvested area in the country is now forecast at 13.3 million hectares (Ha), up 0.3 million Ha from last month and up 0.4 million Ha from last year. Yields are forecast at 3.6 tons per Ha, up slightly from last month and up 12% from last year. The summer corn harvest is currently underway, and is especially advanced in Parana, Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso do Sul. Reported yields have been above average due to optimal weather since planting in most of Brazil’s corn regions.
Brazil’s largest summer corn producing states are Parana, Minas Gerais, and Rio Grande do Sul, which account for approximately 17%, 14%, and 11% of the total corn crop, respectively. High corn prices due to US ethanol demand have caused farmers to plant larger safrinha (winter) corn crops and may help to boost yield due to increased fertilizer use. Winter corn planting is underway and should be nearly finished by the end of March.
Soybeans are being harvested ahead of normal in Mato Grosso despite wetness in some areas, which will mean earlier plantings of winter corn (which follow soybeans), thus resulting in higher yield prospects. Winter corn typically accounts for 25% of Brazil’s total corn area and 23% of the country’s total corn production. Brazil’s soybean production for 2006/07 is forecast at a record 57 million tons, up 1 million from last month and up 2 million from last year. The harvested area is forecast at 21 million Ha. Yields are forecast at 2.71 tons per Ha, up slightly from last month and up 9% from last year.
While wet conditions during the middle of February threatened quality and yield in the number one producing state of Mato Grosso, and in the secondary regions of the northeast, sunny and dry weather arrived at the end of February allowing beans to dry and harvest to resume.
According to Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture (CONAB), yields have been revised upward in Parana, Mato Grosso do Sul, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul from their last survey. These state yield increases have more than offset localized yield losses in Mato Grosso. Mato Grosso is 42% harvested, compared to 31% harvested this time last year. Parana is 19% harvested compared to 16% a year ago, and Rio Grande do Sul is the last state to be harvested; approximately 1% of its crop has been collected.
Mato Grosso, Parana, and Rio Grande do Sul account for approximately 29%, 18%, and 13% of the country’s total soybean production, respectively. The total harvest is 18% complete, compared to 16% at this time last year and 13% on average.
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