Brazil's 2003/04 soyabean crop forecast was lowered to 49.97 million tonnes due to poor weather and Asian rust over the grain belt, independent analysts Safras e Mercado said on Friday.
Safras in March lowered its previous forecast for the current soya crop to 52.28 million tonnes from 56.57 million previously.
Earlier this week the Agriculture Ministry lowered its forecast of new soyabean crop, which is almost finished with harvesting, to 50.1 million tonnes from its previous forecast in February of 57.7 million.
Independent analysts are putting the new crop at between 49 million and 54 million tonnes. But in January, forecasts were as high as 60 million tonnes.
Forecasts have been dropping over the past months as the effects of a severe drought in the southern soya states combined with excess rain and Asian soya rust in the centre-west become more evident through the harvest.
According to the Agriculture Ministry, Brazil produced 52.02 million tonnes of soyabeans last year.
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