February 13, 2012

Brazil's 2011-12 grain output seen at 157 million tonnes

Brazil's 2011-2012 grain and oilseed harvest is expected to reach 157.06 million tonnes, Brazilian Commodities Corp (Conab) estimated.

In its fifth survey for the 2011-2012 crops, Conab forecasts a decline of 3.5%, or 5.77 million tonnes, compared to the record previous harvest of 162.84 million tonnes.

A month ago, Conab had a higher projection of 158.45 million tons for the current grain harvest.

Corn and soy alone are expected to represent 83% of production, totaling 130.059 million tonnes, Conab said.

Planted area is seen reaching 51.52 million hectares, up 3.3% from 49.88 million hectares in the previous harvest.

Conab's survey was conducted between January 16-20.