October 3, 2007

Brazil's Parana soy crop seen at 11.9 million tonnes

Parana, Brazil's second largest soy producing state, is expected to harvest a record 11.9 million tonnes of soy in 2007/08 (Oct/Sept), unchanged from the previous forecast, the state crop supply agency Deral said on Tuesday (October 2).

In 2006/07, Parana produced 11.7 million tonnes of soy. Planting will start within weeks in the state.

On the other hand, the state's 2007/08 summer corn crop is seen to reach 8.85 million tonnes, up slightly from the previously forecast 8.73 million tonnes. In 2006/07, Parana harvested 8.78 million tonnes.

Dry weather in Parana has delayed corn planting, which reached only 15 percent of the expected area, compared with 30 to 40 percent typically planted at this time of year. The delay can cause some producers to leave part of their land to plant soy instead of corn, Deral said. 

The state's soy area is currently estimated at 3.92 million hectares, unchanged from the area under crops in 2006/07. Corn area is seen at 1.37 million hectares, compared with 1.32 million hectares last season.

Parana, also Brazil's No. 1 wheat producing state, is expected to produce 1.88 million tonnes of the cereal, Deral said. In 2006/07, the state harvested 1.2 million tonnes of wheat.

Dry weather has favoured the wheat harvest, which reached 68 percent of the planted area of 821,000 hectares.