December 23, 2004

Brazil Soybean Crop Predicted To Rise By 28%

Brazilian government's statistics office issued its latest crop forecast last week, putting Brazil's soybean crop at 28% above last year's.

The office predicts the 2004/05 crop to be a record 63.1 million tons, up from 49.2 million tons harvested last season.

Some of this expected increase comes from the greater acreage being used for soybeans - 22.7 million hectares compared to 21.5 million hectares in the previous year.

The greatest increases in output are from the major soybean producing states: 68% in Rio Grande do Sul, 62% in Mato Grosso, 29% in Goia, 24% in Parana and 21% in Mato Grosso.