December 13, 2006
Brazil's 2006/07 soy crop 40 percent sold as of December 11
Brazil's 2006/07 soy crop is 40 percent sold as of Dec 11, local agribusiness consultancy AgRural said Tuesday (Dec 12).
The number is seven points higher than November sales. AgRural estimates Brazil should harvest 56.4 million tonnes of soybeans this season. Harvest begins in March.
Last year, Brazilian soy farmers had just committed 10 percent of the 2005/06 crop at this time due to unattractive commodity prices and a weakening dollar. Farmers have already grown accustomed to the unfavourable foreign exchange rate in Brazil and local commodity prices for soybeans have recuperated, hitting near US$7 a bushel for May and other forward soybean contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade. the dollar is worth 2.15 Brazilian reals, up from Monday's close of BRL2.138.
Some centre-west and north-eastern states have sold more than half of the estimated production for the year. Mato Grosso, the leading soy producing state, has sold 61 percent of the 2006/07 crop and neighbouring Goias has sold 51 percent. Goias is the fourth largest producer. Mato Grosso should harvest 15.3 million tonnes and Goias should harvest 6.3 million tonnes, according to AgRural.
Parana is 25 percent sold as of Dec 11 compared with 4 percent at this time last year. Parana, the no. 2 producer, should harvest 11.6 million tonnes. Rio Grande do Sul sold 23 percent as of Dec 11 compared with 10 percent at this time last year. Rio Grande do Sul, the no. 3 producer, should harvest 9.5 million tonnes.
2005/06 crop
AgRural said that nearly 100 percent of the old crop has been sold as of Dec 11, compared to 92 percent for the 2004/05 crop at this time. Brazil harvested 53.4 million tonnes in the 2005/06 crop. A handful of states have small volume remaining. Sao Paulo has about 3 percent of its 1.6 million tonne crop available for sale and Mato Grosso has 1 percent of its 15.9 million crop still to be negotiated.
Brazil is the world's second largest soy producer behind the US.
