February 8, 2006

Brazil's 2005/06 corn crop put at 42.6 million tonnes 

The Brazilian Census Bureau, or IBGE, said Tuesday that Brazilian 2005/06 total corn production would be 22 percent greater than the 2004/05 total, hitting 42.6 million tonnes.

Brazil harvests a summer and winter corn crop. The summer crop is harvested with soybeans, between March and May, and is considered the main crop. IBGE put the main crop estimate at 33.8 million tonnes with production estimates of 3,500 kilogrammes per hectare, compared with a total of 27.1 million tonnes in 2004/05.

The winter crop is put at 8.8 million tonnes, up from 7.7 million tonnes in 2004/05.

On Monday, Brazil's National Commodities Supply Corp, a branch of the Agriculture Ministry, estimated a 41.6 million tonne corn crop in 2005/06.