Brazil soy harvest moves slowly, corn advances despite early-season drought

SAO PAULO: Brazil's soybean harvesting progressed in the period through Feb. 12, but still lagged last year's pace and the historical five-year average, agribusiness consultancy Datagro said on Thursday.

Brazil, the world's largest soy producer and exporter, had harvested 9.1% of the soy area since this year's harvest began around January, less than half of the 21.4% harvested at the same point in 2020 and compared to a historical average of 19.7%, Datagro said.

Harvesting of Brazil's summer corn, which is planted around the same time as soybeans, advanced to 20.6% of the area in Center-South states, according to the statement, slightly above the 17.8% seen over the same period of the previous season and above the 15.5% historical average.

However, there were significant summer corn losses in Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina due to a lack of rain between September and November, Datagro said.

While the drought caused planting delays in late 2020, constant rains over vast swathes of the soybean production area disrupted the harvest in the first weeks of 2021, Datagro said.

The situation may force farmers to plant their second corn crop, which is sown after soybeans are reaped, outside the ideal window this season, analysts said.

Despite the issues during planting and harvesting, the soy crop's general condition is considered good in most areas, putting Brazil en-route to harvest another record crop, Datagro said.

Brazilian farmers will reap an estimated 133 million tonnes of soybeans and more than 105 million tonnes of corn in the 2020/2021 cycle, according to government data.