Brazil soya planting loses steam, again lagging 5-year average

Soyabean plantings for the new Brazilian crop (2019-20) have reached 77.3% of the expected area to be planted with the oilseed at the end of this week, a slower pace than seen last year and also lagging the five-year average for the period.

According to a report from consultancy ARC Mercosul released on Friday, farmers advanced 6 percentage points in the last week. They had planted 89.6% of the area at this time last season. The five-average for this time is 80.5%.

Matheus Pereira, a grains analyst at ARC Mercosul, said that after problems in states such as Mato Grosso and Parana earlier in the plantings period, now there are delays in No. 3 producing state Rio Grande do Sul. Farmers in Rio Grande do Sul planted only 38% of the area so far compared to 67% a year ago and 52% on average in the last five years.