SAO PAULO: Brazilian farmers will harvest a record corn crop even as growers plant their second corn crop outside the ideal window, Paulo Molinari, an analyst with Safras & Mercado, said in a presentation on Thursday.

Total corn production in the 2020/2021 cycle is estimated at 113.5 million tonnes, up 6% from the previous year, with second corn production to reach a projected 84 million tonnes, Safras data showed.

Brazil's second corn crop is planted in the same area as soybeans, and delays in reaping the oilseeds this year compromised the timeline for sowing the cereal in top farm states including Mato Grosso.

Despite forecasts for a bumper total corn crop and an estimated 10.5 million tonne rise in second corn production, Brazil may need to import the cereal from Paraguay and Argentina in the coming months, Molinari said.

"If Brazil has a longer winter with lower temperatures, we'll only have large volumes of second corn in August and September," he said.

About one third of Brazil's second corn, part of which Brazil exports in the second half, has been pre-sold. According to Safras, the uncertainty caused by planting delays affected business.

"Growers planted late and are tense for not knowing how much they will harvest," Molinari said.