Brazil's 2009-10 soy harvest at 56% as of March 19

 

 

Brazilian farmers harvested 56% of the upcoming 2009-10 soy as of March 19 helped by favourable weather, local agricultural consultancy Celeres said on Monday (March 22).

 

The mainly dry weather last week in key regions helped farmers to progress from 45% harvested as of March 12 and 45% at the same time a year ago, Celeres said.

 

Brazil's soy harvest also remains ahead of a five-year average of 41% of soy harvested at this time of year, Celeres said.

 

The country's harvest is expected to be a bumper 65.7 million tonnes of soy, up 13% from 2008-09, Celeres said.

 

Farmers started harvesting their beans earlier this year in parts of Mato Grosso, the No. 1 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 88% of their upcoming soy crop as of Friday. They had harvested 78% at the end of the prior week and 77% at the same time a year ago.

 

The soy harvest in Parana, Brazil's No. 2 soy-producing state, gathered pace to reach 62% as of March 19 versus 46% in the previous week and 55% a year ago.

 

Rio Grande do Sul, the No. 3 soy producer, which traditionally is the last state to begin harvesting, had harvested 6% of its beans by March 19 compared to 2% in the prior week and 1% a year ago.