October 6, 2008
Weather cooperating with Brazil's new soy crop
Brazilian soy growers will start the planting season with good weather this year, the Agriculture Ministry said Friday (October 3).
Government meteorologists said that rainfall in the southeast and center-west soy belt will see normal to slightly above-normal rainfall over the next three months.
"The weather report also indicates that there won't be any delay in planting because of rain," said Airton Camargo of Brazil's National Commodities Supply Corp., or Conab. "That's the first sign of a good crop."
Brazil is the world's No. 2 soy producer after the US.
Farmers here are expected to increase planted area by around 2 percent to 3 percent over the roughly 22.1 million hectares planted in 2007-08, according to current market estimates.
The planting season in the southern soy states of Parana and Rio Grande do Sul starts in two weeks, while some soy growers in the centre-west are already planting.
Conab said it will release its 2008-09 soy crop planting intentions report October 8.
