April 18, 2007

Brazil's new soy crop 65 percent sold as of April 17

Brazil's 2006/07 soy crop is 65 percent sold as of April 17, local consulting firm AgRural said Tuesday.

The number represents a 14 percentage-point advance over the last four weeks and a 30 percentage-point difference in comparison to this time last year.

On Monday, competing consulting group Celeres estimated 55 percent of the crop was sold as of April 13.

The no. 1 soy producing state, Mato Grosso, has 74 percent of the crop sold. Parana, the no. 2 soy producer, has 43 percent of the crop sold and no. 3 Rio Grande do Sul has 26 percent sold.

AgRural says Brazil should harvest 60 million tonnes of soybeans this season, the highest crop estimate to date. The official crop estimate is 57.8 million tonnes from the National Commodities Supply Corp (Conab).

Brazil is the no. 2 soy producer behind the US.