Brazil’s soybean planting lags previous season on irregular rains

SAO PAULO: Brazil’s soybean planting for the 2025/26 season reached 47percent of the expected area as of last Thursday, up from 36 percent a week earlier but lagging the 54percent seen a year earlier due to irregular rainfall, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said on Monday.

The Cerrado savanna region in central Brazil is currently a major concern, AgRural said in a statement, highlighting the state of Goias, where the planting pace has been the slowest since 2017/18.

Mato Grosso state and the Matopiba area - which spans parts of Maranhao, Tocantins, Piaui and Bahia - have also faced issues, the report added, warning that adverse weather could require additional replanting.

“Although cases of replanting are still isolated, they may increase if the combination of irregular rainfall and heat continue to prevail in the coming days,” the consultancy added.

Low humidity in Goias has also limited corn planting, AgRural said, noting that the progress in Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo has been similarly affected.

Planting of the country’s first 2025/26 corn crop hit 60 percent of the projected area in the key center-south region, roughly matching the 59 percent seen a year earlier, AgRural added.