October 19, 2004

Brazil 2004-05 Soy Crop 3% Planted As Rain Returns

Planting of Brazil's potentially record 2004-05 (October-September) soybean crop surged to reach 3% completed last week as rains returned to the main-producing states, local agricultural consultancy Celeres said Monday.
 
Fieldwork remains slightly behind that registered at the same point last year when farmers had sown 5% of their crop but is in line with the five-year average.
 
Last week, the crop was just 1% planted.
 
The rain allowed planting to start in regions outside Mato Grosso and Parana, traditionally the earlier planting region.
 
But the farmers remain busiest in Mato Grosso and Parana where 6% of the crop is now in the ground. Producers in both regions are rushing the summer crop to ensure good conditions for a second crop of corn in the winter. Better weather meant planting was slightly more advanced in the two states last year at 10% complete in Mato Grosso and 7% complete in Parana.
 
Should rain and sun continue across Brazil, planting should advance quickly over the next week, said the Celeres weekly report.
 
Celeres estimates Brazilian soybean output at 64.2 million metric tons, some 26% higher than last season as yields return to normal.
 
Sales of soybeans heated up across the country over the last week.
 
For the 2003-04 crop, farmers have now sold 82% of the crop up to Oct. 15. That's up from 80% the week before but still well behind the 96% sold at the same point last year.
 
Sales are also well behind the average of 99% sold at the same point over the last five years.
 
"Farmers are coming to terms with the idea that prices will tend to stay at low levels," said Anderson Galvao Gomes, Celeres' soy analyst, said in his latest report.
 
For the 2004-05 season, there was also an advance in sales, of one percentage point to 10% of the Brazilian crop as a whole up to Friday. After weeks of little business, the sales show that producers are selling to raise funds for this year's crop, said the report.
 
Following recent news about the US crop, farmers have lost hope of better prices in the short to medium term, said Galvao.
 
Brazil is the world's No. 2 producer and exporter of soybeans.