February 29, 2008

 

High soy prices may not lead to high output in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul

 

 

Even though farmers in most parts of Brazil are busy selling soy due to the current high prices, crop losses at Rio Grande do Sul, the country's third largest soy producing state, may not have a higher volume of soy to sell due to crop losses.

 

A lack of rain since the beginning of the month has tempered forecasts with losses, according to Jairo Marcos Kohlrausch, vice president of Cotrijal cooperative.


Output at the state, originally forecasted at 10 million tonnes, has been scaled back to 9 million tonnes due to lack of rain during the crucial grain-filling stage of development, according to Agroconsult.

 

Producers now fear they have sold more than they should as crop losses mount.

 

Farmers with debts incurred from a serious drought in 2004/05 had to sell their crop forward to buy inputs like fuel, fertilizers and seeds.

 

They sold 30 percent of the crop they expected to harvest at between US$16 to US$18 per bag, but prices have now risen to US$25 to US$27 a bag, according to Hamilton Jardim, the president of the rural union of Palmeira das Missoes.

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