January 5, 2007

Rain to aid soy crop in Brazil

Heavy rains forecast for the coming week and a half are likely to aid the development of Brazil's new 2006/07 soy crop, especially in the country's top soy states of Mato Grosso and Parana, though farmers must stay alert to new cases of Asian rust, said local weather agency Climatempo and analysts on Thursday (Jan 4).

In the next 10 days, a total of 110 to 150 millimetres of rain is forecast for Brazil's leading soy state of

Mato Grosso, said Marcelo Pinheiro, a Climatempo meteorologist in a phone interview with Dow Jones Newswires.

As for the country's no. 2 soy state of Parana, about 60 to 80 millimetres of rain is expected to fall between Thursday and Tuesday, with lighter rains expected after that, he added.

Rains are highly favourable for the growth of the soy plant, which is usually harvested across the country starting in February.

However, it is likely to delay the fieldwork of scattered Brazilian municipalities that had planned to start harvesting in full force this month, such as Lucas do Rio Verde and Nova Mutum in Mato Grosso.

More importantly, however, in periods of heavy showers, farmers must stay vigilant to possible cases of a feared soybean disease, Asian rust, which is caused by a fungus that attacks the leaves, said the state-linked agricultural research firm, Embrapa.