April 4, 2024

Brazil's soybean harvest for 2023/24 cycle hit 74% of planted area

Brazil's soybean harvest for the 2023/24 cycle had reached 74% of the planted area as of March 28, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said on April 1.

This is up five percentage points from the previous week. However, the figure was below the 76% seen at the same time a year earlier.

Rains have been hampering harvesting progress in parts of Brazil's center-north and impacting grain quality in some areas, AgRural said in a statement.

Showers have subsided in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil's southernmost state, but these will be needed again soon so that farmers who planted their fields later in the season do not face yield losses, the consultancy added.

Now that planting of Brazil's second corn crop has been concluded, farmers have turned their focus to "the effects of climate on the crops' development and output potential," AgRural noted.

Areas including Parana state and the southern regions of Mato Grosso do Sul and Sao Paulo will most likely face yield losses due to hot weather and irregular rainfall, AgRural said.

Brazil's second corn crop represents about 75% of national production each year and is planted after soybeans are harvested in the same fields.

- Reuters