March 1, 2004

Brazil 2003-04 Soy Harvest 9% Complete
 
Up to February 27, Brazil's bumper 2003-04 soybean harvest was 9% complete, equaling the progress at the same stage last year, Brazilian agricultural consultants Safras e Mercado said Friday.
 
As is normal, harvesting is most advanced in the top-producing center-west region, where easing rain has allowed combines into the fields.
 
Farmers in Mato Grosso, the top-producing state, had harvested 18% of their crop up till Friday, compared with 17% at the same stage last year. Progress was slower in Goias state, where 16% of the prospective crop was harvested compared with 19% a year earlier.
 
Harvesting in Sao Paulo state is just beginning, with 3% completed compared with 9% last year. In Mato Grosso do Sul, 15% of the crop has been collected, compared to 8% last year.
 
Meanwhile, Brazilian farmers had sold or committed to sell 40% of the 2003- 04 crop up to Feb. 27, slightly below 44% at the same time last year, but above the five-year average of 32%.
 
In Mato Grosso, 63% of the crop has already been committed, compared with 64% last year, while in neighboring Goias some 54% had been sold, compared with 58% last season.
 
Safras estimates Brazil's soybean production at 56.6 million metric tons this season, up from 51.4 million tons last year.