March 13, 2014
Brazil''s soy harvest drops after dry spell harmed crops
After low rainfall and high temperatures harmed crops in Brazil, the country''s soy growers will harvest less than previously estimated, the government said.
The production outlook for the 2013-14 season was cut to 85.4 million tonnes from last month''s 90 million-tonne forecast, agricultural agency Conab said by e-mail. The corn estimate was lowered to 75.2 from 75.5 million tonnes.
In the past two months, the worst drought in decades parched crops in Brazil''s south and southeast, while excess rain in the west delayed harvesting. Concern that adverse weather conditions will reduce supplies, helped push up international prices for soy, corn, coffee and sugar this year. Soy futures traded in Chicago are up 8%.
Temperatures as high as 39 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit) and more than 40 days without rain lost Ricardo Wolter, president of the rural association in the southern city of Carambei, about 76% of his soy production at his 300-hectare (740-acre) farm. His crop yielded 16.7 60-kilogrammegram (132- pound) bags per hectare on average from 70 bags last season.
Average soycrop yields in Parana will probably drop to 51 bags per hectare, from 56 bags in the previous season, Agroconsult analyst Fabio Meneghin said.
Most soy and corn harvesting in Brazil started in January, following planting in September and October. Even after the reduced forecasts for the crops that growers are still reaping in several areas, soy production is expected to rise from a record 81.5 million tonnes harvested last season, Conab said. Corn output is seen dropping from a revised 81.5 million tonnes.
Showers in past weeks that are expected to continue for the rest of this month may ease damage caused by the dry spell, Agricultural Policy Secretary Neri Geller told reporters in Brasilia. Conab will have a better assessment of the full impact of the drought next month, he said.