Brazil’s Conab raises soybean output view

SAO PAULO: Brazilian farmers are expected to reap 147.685 million metric tons of soybeans in the 2023/2024 cycle, 1.16 million tons more than forecast in April, as national crop agency Conab revised the size of the area planted with the oilseed on Tuesday.

The upward revision may surprise some, as Brazil’s second largest soy producing state, Rio Grande do Sul, continues to face excess rains and flooding, disrupting farmers before they can finish harvesting all their soybean fields. Conab did lower Rio Grande do Sul’s average yield forecast, to 3,168 kg per hectare from 3,280 kg per hectare last month, noting this was still “normal” but could change if “current climate adversities persist.”