March 8, 2004

Brazil 2003-04 Soy Harvest 15% Complete
 
Brazil's bumper 2003-04 soybean harvest was 15% complete up to March 5, surpassing last year's progress of 13% and the five-year average of 14%, Brazilian agricultural consultants Safras e Mercado said Friday.
 
As is normal, harvesting is most advanced in the top-producing center-west region, where easing rain has allowed combines into the fields.
 
Farmers in Mato Grosso, the top-producing state, had harvested 30% of their crop up till Friday, compared with 25% at the same stage last year. Progress was slower in Goias state, where 20% of the prospective crop was harvested compared with 24% a year earlier.
 
Harvesting in Sao Paulo state is just beginning, with 8% completed compared with 15% last year. In Mato Grosso do Sul, 23% of the crop has been collected, compared to 18% at the same time last year.
 
In the southern state of Parana, the No. 2 soy producer, harvesting was 14% complete up to Friday, slightly ahead of last year's 13%, but on par with the five-year average.
 
Safras estimates Brazil's soybean production at 56.6 million metric tons this season, up from 51.4 million tons last year.