Brazil likely to see 2.8% growth in grain harvest
Brazil’s grain output for the 2018/19 season is likely to reach 234.1 million tons, up 2.8 percent from the previous harvest, as per a survey released today by the country's National Supply Company (Conab).
The crop with the most significant contribution in the 6.5 million extra tons was cotton, which should close out the time span up 27.9 percent in production (2.8 million tons), and 33 percent in cultivated area (1.6 million hectares).
On the other end are black beans, with the poorest performance. The estimated cultivated area for black beans in the first harvest was 941.9 thousand hectares, down 10.6 percent from the previous season.
The study also forecasts a reduction in the production of soybeans 3.3 percent in the period, though the cultivated area saw an increase of 1.9 percent. Altogether, the volume of production is estimated at 115.3 million of tons of soybeans.
“In the last survey, we are lowering the forecast by 3.9 million tons of soybeans,” said Eduardo Sampaio, secretary for farming politics of Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply.
“As for black beans, [the output decline] is a common behavior. You don’t have an international market as you have for corn and soybeans. Prices float considerably. This year, black beans were expensive because there was a break in the first harvest,” he added.
Corn was the first crop to lose production, reaching 26.5 million tons, and a 1.2 percent reduction in cultivated area. Taking into account the second harvest, however, the expected production is 91.7 million tons, up 13.6 percent in the 2017/18 season.
