Brazil Soybean Crop to Hit Another Record

By CnAgri2012-10-15 19:26:22 Print

Brazil should produce a record soybean crop that may be up to 25 percent larger than last season's as farmers plant more in reaction to high prices caused by the drought in the United States. Reuters reports that soybean output should be between 80 million and 82.8 million tonnes as yields return to normal after dry weather damaged Brazil's 2011/12 crop. Productivity should increase 14.3 percent to 3.03 tonnes per hectare compared to 2.651 tonnes per hectare last season.

Brazil's area planted with soybeans should increase to 27.33 million hectares from last year's 25 million, supply agency Conab said in its first crop report of the season.

"This growth is due to excellent prices seen in the 2011/12 season that broke historic records due to the drop in production in the main producing countries," the agency said in reference to the worst U.S. drought in more than half a century.

Brazil has been the world's No. 2 soybean grower in recent years but will likely surpass the United States in oilseed production this season. The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects Brazil to produce 81 million tonnes of soybeans compared to 71.69 million tonnes in the dry United States.

The U.S. harvest is turning out to be a bit better than analysts originally expected, causing soy prices in Chicago to fall 11 percent in three weeks. But global supplies will likely be tight until expected bumper crops from Brazil and neighboring Argentina are ready for export in January or February.

The agency expects end-of-season stocks to quadruple by this time next year to about 4.3 million tonnes, up from about 946,000 tonnes in stock last month. That means Brazilian ranchers shouldn't have to import livestock feed like they did after a drought caused a local grain shortage this year.