January 10, 2023

 

Soybean harvest in Brazil off to a slow start

Agribusiness consultancy AgRural said Brazil's 2022/23 soybean harvest has only reached 0.04% of the national planted area as of January 5, 2023, compared to 0.2% at the same time in 2022, Investing.com reported.

 

The consultancy said field work was hampered by the wet weather in states like top soybean producer Mato Grosso.

 

In addition, because of the lengthened crop cycle in the west and southwest, where cloudy weather at the start of the season slowed plant development, the soy harvest in Parana state will only begin later this year.

 

The hot and dry weather is worrying farmers in Rio Grande do Sul, the most southern state of Brazil, where planting of the final soybean fields is still ongoing, but there is still no firm evidence of crop failure.

 

The same cannot be said for the summer corn planted in the area, as the heat wave is predicted to ruin some of the crop, AgRural said.

 

Brazil's center-south corn area has been harvested to a lesser extent than it did at this time last year, at 2.3% as opposed to 3.1%.

 

AgRural said Rio Grande do Sul's potential for soybean production in Brazil will decline as long as it is hot and dry.

 

In the rest of the country, the crop is developing well so far and good soybean yields are expected.

 

Brazil's soy production for 2022/23 was projected by AgRural to reach a record 153.6 million tonnes in mid–December. Mid-January will see the release of a new estimate.

 

-      Investing.com