January 20, 2009

Sales of Brazil's new soy crop have accelerated since the start of the New Year with the advance of early harvest under favorable weather in the centre-west, grain analysts said on Monday (Jan 19).

In the current credit environment, with rising international prices and drought over the southern soy producing states and Argentina, producers have been slow to sell their new crop.

But the start of early harvest earlier in January in Brazil's main soy producer state of Mato Grosso in the centre-west has prompted the sales of soy in recent weeks.

Over the sum of Brazil's soy belt, producers have sold 26 percent of their crop by January 16, up three percent from the previous week.

But sales are still lagging. By this time last year, 45 percent of the crop was sold and over the last five years, sales have averaged 41 percent of the crop by now, according to grain analyst, Celeres.

The producer-linked Mato Grosso State Farm Economy Institute (Imea) said that 400,000 tonnes of new soy have traded hands in the past two and a half weeks.

Imea analyst, Maria Amelia Triloni said the climate has been good for harvest.

Some producers in the centre-west were even concerned last week about the dry weather as the vast majority of their fields still require a few weeks of rain to reach maturity and fill pods with beans.

Local independent forecasters Somar, however, said that strong rains would likely delay field work in northern Mato Grosso and showers would also fall over other parts of the centre-west but would not interrupt early harvest.

By January 16, producers had collected 1.2 percent of Mato Grosso's 5.5 million hectare soy crop, up from 0.6 percent the week prior, Imea said.

The agriculture ministry sees the state crop at 16.8 million tonnes compared with 17.8 million in 2007/08.