March 29 2004

Brazil 2003-04 Soy Harvest 43% Complete
 
Brazil's bumper 2003-04 soybean harvest was 43% complete up to March 26, moving ahead of the 38% reaped at the same point last year and slightly up on the five-year average of 41%, Brazilian agricultural consultants Safras e Mercado said Friday.
 
Field work progressed quickly over the past week. On March 19, Safras said only 31% of the crop had been harvested.
 
Farmers in Mato Grosso, the top-producing state, had harvested 66% of their crop up till Friday, well ahead of the 52% collected last year.
 
In the southern state of Parana, the No. 2 soy producer, 53% of the crop was now collected compared with 58% last week. Fieldwork is slightly behind than the five-year average of 54%.
 
Safras currently estimates Brazil's soybean production at 56.6 million metric tons this season, up from 51.4 million tons last year.