Brazil lowers forecasts for cereal and oilseed crops again

The Brazilian cereal and oilseed harvest is expected to reach a record 261.4 million tons this year, 3.2 percent bigger than last year’s harvest, according to new data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The updated forecast, however, is lower than the one from May.

Soybean output is expected to drop by 12.3 percent this year due to disruptions caused by extreme weather. While droughts and frosts damaged corn fields last year, the lack of rain in Brazil’s South — which accounts for one-quarter of Brazil’s cereal and oilseed output — affected soybean producers from October to January. 

The drop will be offset by corn producers, which should have an output 26.7 percent greater than last year with 111.2 million tons. The area to be harvested is also expected to increase by almost 6 percent compared to the previous harvest.

Rice, soybean and corn account for 91.7 percent of this year’s estimated grain production and occupy 87.5 percent of the area to be harvested.

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