Brazil may plant record soyabean area of over 38 million hectares

SAO PAULO: Brazilian soyabean farmers are expected to expand planted area to over 38 million hectares (93.9 million acres) in the season that will kick off in mid-September as demand for the oilseeds remains strong, agribusiness consultancy StoneX said on Thursday.

In the 2019/2020 harvest, Brazil sowed about 37 million hectares (91 million acres) with soyabeans, according to government data, resulting in a record harvest of 120.9 million tonnes of Brazil's most wanted export commodity.

The record output came in spite of a drought in Rio Grande do Sul state. Forecasts indicate the possibility that soyabean shipments from Brazil will end the year at around 80 million tonnes, which would be the second largest volume ever shipped by the country, behind only 2018.