Brazil soybean crop projection rises driven by area expansion – Agroconsult

Brazilian agribusiness consultancy Agroconsult on Wednesday increased its 2023/24 soybean crop estimate for Brazil to 156.5 million metric tons after surveying fields nationally and estimating an expansion of planted area in the world’s largest producer and exporter.

In the middle of Agroconsult’s expedition, which started in January, it had projected production at 152.2 million tons, citing uncertainty related to the climate in key producing regions.

The national area planted with soybeans has been estimated at 46.4 million hectares (114.6 million acres), 1.2 million hectares more than projected by government crop agency Conab, Agroconsult said.

The different methodologies to calculate planted area helps explain the huge gap between Agroconsult’s and Conab’s crop estimate for this season, according to Agroconsult executives.

Conab pegged this year’s soybean crop at 146.9 million tons this month, which is almost 10 million tons lower than Agroconsult’s number.

Andre Pessoa, Agroconsult’s president, said erratic climate conditions early in the season, with heavy rains in the south of the country and extreme dryness in the center west, made this year’s tour one of the most challenging from a technical standpoint.

After surveying fields in 15 states and considering that the weather differed depending on the region, Agroconsult estimated the average of Brazil’s 2023/24 soybean yields at 56.2 bags per hectare, 6.5% lower than last season.

In top grower Mato Grosso, yields fell 16.8% to 53.1 bags per hectare, Agroconsult estimated. However, the high productivity in Rio Grande do Sul offset losses in other states.

Agroconsult data shows soy yields rose 55.2% to 57.2 bags per hectares in Brazil’s southernmost state, which had crop losses in the prior season from a lack of rainfall.

(Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: Nasdaq

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