SAO PAULO: Brazil's soya harvest for the 2020/2021 season is forecast to increase 5.8% from the prior crop to 131.7 million tonnes on the back of expectations for expanded planting area and higher yields, according to a Reuters poll of 12 analysts.
That compares to an estimated harvest of 124.46 million tonnes of soyabeans for 2019/2020, according to government agriculture statistics agency Conab.
The consensus estimate is also up by 1 million tonnes from the previous consensus in a Reuters poll published on July 30.
The consensus estimates for planted area was 38.11 million hectares, roughly stable with the prior poll.
Brazil is the world's largest exporter of soyabeans. Analysts said that expectations for a record high in planted area and market optimism were leading to a fast pace of forward selling of the next soya crop.
Earlier on Friday, consultancy Safras & Mercado said that 65 million tonnes of the 2020/21 soya crop had already been contracted for sale, or nearly half of overall production.