Rains slow Brazil’s new soy crop planting, consultancy says

Excess rains in some areas of Brazil have slowed sowing of the country’s 2022/2023 soybean crop, according agribusiness consultancy AgRural.

As of last Thursday, the total area planted with the oilseed reached 3.8% in the world’s largest producer of soybeans. This compares with 4.1% a year ago, according to AgRural.

“The progress during the week was not bad, but sowing could have been faster if it weren’t for constant rains in Parana, Mato Grosso do Sul and Sao Paulo states,” AgRural said.

In Mato Grosso, Brazil’s top grain grower, rainfall last week was very welcome to improve soil moisture and accelerate sowing work, according to the consultancy.

At the same time, a separate forecast from consultancy Safras & Mercado on Monday showed a slightly different picture for Brazil’s soy planting.

Safras pegged domestic soy sowing at 4.5% of the estimated area through last Friday, above the 4% seen last year and higher than a five-year average of 3.1%.

Safras estimates farmers will plant soy on 42.88 million hectare (105.9 million acres) this year.

The Brazilian government predicts Brazilian growers will reap a record of around 150 million tonnes of soybeans this season and a record 125.5 million-tonne total corn crop, barring weather issues.

StoneX on Monday rose its projection for Brazil’s soy production to 153.8 million tonnes and the total corn forecast to 126.3 million tonnes, in spite a drop in Brazil’s summer corn forecast related to a fall in planted area.

AgRural said Brazil’s summer corn sowing is 34% complete in the center south, where most of the country’s output comes from. This compares with 32.6% at the same time a yea ago, the consultancy said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Marguerita Choy)