November 28, 2007

Brazil's Mato Grosso soy area smaller than expected

Brazil's leading soy producer, Mato Grosso, will plant less soy than expected, farm consultancy AgRural said on Tuesday (November 27, 2007).

Mato Grosso should plant 5.6 million hectares, down 2.3 percent from AgRural's October estimate. AgRural cited a late start to the planting season as the principal culprit.

A dry October had many of the state's soy growers opting to plant cottonne instead of soys.

Brazil should plant 22.4 million hectares of soys overall, with production estimates currently at 62.4 million tonnes, according to AgRural.

AgRural's estimate is one of the most positive for 2007-08 soys. Most estimates hover between 59 million and 61 million tonnes, which would be two consecutive record breaking soy crops for Brazil. The country harvested over 58 million tonnes in 2006-07.

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