September 12, 2008

Weather cooperating for Brazil soy planting this month

Brazilian soy growers in the centre-west soy belt will have good weather on their side when they start planting as early as this month, the National Meteorological Institute, Inmet, said Thursday (September 11).

"This is going to result in around 180 millimetres of rain with around 15 to 20 days of rain," said Expedito Rebello, chief of applied research of Inmet in a press release.

"This is going to lead to good planting conditions for both soy and corn," he said.

Soy and corn are Brazil's top two crops, with soy being a leading export revenue generator for the country.

Some farmers in Mato Grosso, the leading soy state in Brazil, will plant early-cycle soy this month, but the vast majority of soy gets planted in the country around mid-October.

Inmet said soy regions should expect historical average rainfall starting in October. It is currently winter in Brazil, the driest season of the year.

Brazil's 2008-09 soy crop will likely be around 3 percent bigger in terms of area, judging by current consensus estimates. If yields per hectare are as good as they were in 2007-08, Brazil could harvest another record breaker, with output seen close to 63 million tonnes.

The rising US dollar against the Brazilian real will not have any major impact on planted areas this season, as most farmers have already made their strategic planting decisions with regards to which commodities will return the most profits.

"Weakening of the Brazilian real is good for Brazilian soy farmers, but it won't have an impact on this year's soy acreage because most of the planting decisions have already been made," according to Michael Cordonnier, president of US-based consultancy Soybean & Corn Advisor Inc.