Brazil 2009-10 soy harvest seen at 32%

Brazilian farmers have harvested 32% of the upcoming 2009-10 soy as of March 5, local agricultural consultancy Celeres said on Monday (March 8).

Brazil's soy harvest was at 26% as of February 26 and 26% at the same time a year ago, Celeres said.

The country's soy harvest also remains ahead of a five-year average of 22% of soy harvested at this time of year, it said.

Farmers started harvesting their beans earlier this year in parts of Mato Grosso, the top soy-producing state. They hoped to take advantage of higher prices by reaping their beans earlier than farmers in other regions.

As a result, farmers in Mato Grosso had harvested 55% of their upcoming soy crop as of Friday despite recent rainfall. They had harvested 48% at the end of the prior week.

The soy harvest in Parana, Brazil's No. 2 soy-producing state, reached 33% as of March 5 against 28% in the previous week.

Rio Grande do Sul, the No. 3 soy producer, which traditionally is the last state to begin harvesting, had harvested 1% of its beans by March 5.  The country's harvest is expected to be a bumper 65.7 million tonnes of soy, up 13% from 2008-09, Celeres said.

This compares to the estimate by the National Commodities Supply Corp., or Conab, which on Tuesday pegged the crop at 67.5 million tonnes.

Celeres said 32% of the 2009-10 soy crop had been sold as of March 5, up from 31% the week before. Soy sales trail a five-year average of 47%.