December 8, 2009
Lower 2009-10 soy crop seen in Brazil
Brazil's 2009-10 soy crop was projected at 64 million tonnes, down from the 64.7 million tonnes forecast in November, grains analysts Celeres said Monday (Dec 7).
Analysts say that if confirmed, the new crop would be 10-percent bigger than the 58.2-million-tonne crop in which harvest ended in May. The new crop will end planting in the coming days.
According to Celeres, the drop in the month-to-month forecast was due mostly to lower-than-expected yields, principally in Mato Grosso - Brazil's No. 1 soy producer state.
Per hectare yields for the state fell 126 kilogrammes from the previous forecast to 3.05 tonnes. The state had yields of 3.12 tonnes per hectare last season.
For Brazil overall, expected yields fell 31 kilogramme per hectare from the previous forecast to 2.798 tonnes per hectare, up 3.4 percent from last season's 2.706 tonnes per hectare.
