January 16, 2006

Brazil expected to harvest 13 percent more soybean

Brazil, the world's second largest producer of soybean, is expected to harvest about 13 percent more soybean this year.

A record 58.5 million tonnes of Brazilian soybean production has been estimated for January this year. This is from a harvested area of 21.5 million hectares.

A decline in soybean acreage is expected due to a change in economic conditions that has greatly reduced soybean profitability compared with recent years. Declining soybean prices, a strengthening currency and a drought has caused Brazilian farmers to experience crop and financial losses in the previous season. Their difficult financial situation has been compounded by a reduced flow of credit to plant the 2005/06 crop.