March 2, 2006

Rain slows soybean harvest in Brazil's Mato Grosso

Steady rains in Brazil's top soy-producing state of Mato Grosso have slowed the ongoing 2005/06 soy harvest there and created temporary bottlenecks in transportation.

A portion of Brazilian highway BR364, which connects Cuiaba, Mato Grosso's capital, to the rest of the country, caved in over the weekend, turning part of the two-lane road into a single lane, according to agribusiness consulting group AgRural.

Consistent rainfall in major soy-producing towns like Sorriso is expected to continue until March 15 in most regions of the state, ClimaTempo weather service forecast Wednesday.

Wet weather will likely damage soybean quality in the days ahead, said AgRural soy analyst Seneri Paludo.

"When you look at our state on the map, all you see is cloud cover," Paludo said.

"It's not raining the whole day long, but it's raining enough to slow the harvest, affect soybean quality and slow truck transport out of the state," Paludo said.

According to ClimaTempo, Mato Grosso should get about 100 millimetres of rain over the next four days in the southern, eastern and northern regions. Next week, however, rainfall is expected to be even more steady across the state until March 15.

Mato Grosso is expected to harvest roughly 16.4 million tonnes of soybeans in 2005/06. Official estimates are for a nationwide 2005/06 soy harvest of 58.1 million tonnes.