October 9, 2006

Brazil's grain harvest stands at 121 million tonnes

The sowing intentions for the Brazilian 2006/2007 crop, disclosed in Brazilian capital Bras¨ªlia, Thursday (Oct 5) recorded soy, maize, cottonseed and lint to be planted when compared to the previous crop.

Brazil should pick between 117.7 and 120.6 million tonnes of grain in total. In the previous harvest, a total of 119.9 million tonnes were harvested.

The National Food Supply Company (Conab) estimated the plantation area for soy at between 20.5 and 21.2 million hectares, a sharp reduction of between 5.1 and 7.6  percent in soy area as farmers had been making losses the past three crops

Despite the reduction in the cropland, the Conab study forecast production of between 53.5 and 55.0 million tonnes of soy, equivalent to expansion of up to 3 percent as it expects producers to focus on more productive areas, thereby increasing productivity.

According to the Conab study, maize production in the years 2006/2007 should be between 41.9 and 42.9 million tonnes. Going by that, the country would be recording a 3-percent hike with 90 percent of national production in the centre-southern region.

The study was conducted last month after interviewing representatives of cooperatives, public and private organisations, financial agents and producers.