March 18, 2008

Brazil's new soy 61 percent sold, pace slowing
 

Brazil's 2007-08 soy crop has been 33 percent harvested and 61 percent sold as of March 14, farm consultancy Celeres said Monday (March 18, 2008).

The pace of the harvest has picked up by seven percentage points from March 7, and above the 25 percent five-year average.

Sales have reacted a bit slower, up just one percentage point from March 7, but well ahead of the 51 percent historical average, Celeres said.

In Mato Grosso, the country's leading soy producer, 80 percent of the crop has been sold with 61 percent harvested.

No. 2 Parana has 42 percent of its crop sold and 35 percent harvested, with No. 3 Rio Grande do Sul selling 34 percent of its crop prior to harvest. The harvest has not started in the state yet.

Sales have advanced slowly, by one to two percentage points, over the last seven days up to March 14.

Brazil is the world's No. 2 soy exporter behind the U.S.