January 11, 2012

Brazil's Conab cuts 2011/2012 grain, oilseed yield forecast

The 2011/2012 grain and oilseed output of Brazil will be down to 158.45 million tonnes, the Brazilian Commodities Corp., (Conab) said Tuesday (Jan 10).

In its fourth survey for the 2011/2012 crop, Conab forecasts a decline of 2.8%, or 4.51 million tonnes, compared to the record previous harvest of 162.958 million tonnes.

A month ago, Conab had a higher projection of 159.08 million tonnes for the current grain harvest.

Corn and soy alone are expected to represent 83% of production, totalling 130.962 million tonnes, Conab said.

Planted area is seen reaching 50.66 million hectares, up a modest 1.5% from 49.919 million hectares in the previous harvest.

Conab's survey was conducted between December 15-19, 2011.