October 9, 2007

 

Brazil 2007/08 soy crop sales reach 26 percent

 

 

Brazilian soy producers have sold forward 26 percent of the 2007/08 crop, unchanged from the week before, private analysts Celeres said on Monday (October 8).

 

Celeres said on the internal market, the combination of the fall in prices in the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) along with the bias for the strengthening of the real against the dollar returned to interfering with domestic sales to be delivered in 2008.

 

The Brazilian real is trading around its strongest in more than seven years against the dollar. This reduces the earnings from soybean exports in local currency terms.

 

Celeres added that the beginning of the US soy harvest has lowered CBOT futures prices and shifted the world physical soy sales activity to the US Gulf ports in the Northern Hemisphere, and away from Brazil and Argentina where planting is just getting started and will run through January-February.

 

On average over the past five years, Brazilian producers have sold 24 percent of the future soy crop by this time of year compared to the 15 percent sold a year ago, according to Celeres.

 

Mato Grosso, Brazil's No. 1 soy producer state, has sold 39 percent of its new crop, which is up from the 26 percent sold forward this time last year, Celeres said. The centre-west state leads others in the soy belt in forward sales.

 

The No. 2 soy producer state, Parana, has sold 12 percent of its new crop, up from 8 percent last year. And No. 3 producer, Rio Grande do Sul state, has sold 10 percent, up from 6 percent in 2006 at this time.

 

Brazil's 2007/08 soy crop is seen at a record 63 million tonnes, Celeres said.

 

Current crop sales have reached 93 percent, up from the 92 percent sold last week and the 91 percent sold a year ago.

 

Celeres puts the 2006/07 (Oct/Sept) soybean crop at a record nearly 59 million tonnes. Harvesting finished in May.