Foreign media news on December 26: The Institute of Agricultural Economics (IMEA) of the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil said that in areas where soybeans were planted earlier in the west of the state, farmers have already begun harvesting soybeans for the 2022/23 season.

Clayton Gower, director of IMEA, said soybeans already harvested represent less than 1% of the 11.8 million hectares planted to soybeans. After farmers harvest soybeans, they may start planting cotton.

Amaggi, which is owned by Brazil’s former Agriculture Minister Blairo McGee, said in a statement that it began harvesting soybeans for the 2022/23 season in Mato Grosso last Wednesday (December 21). crop. Amaji Group planted a total of 170,661 hectares of soybeans in the current year, and the production is estimated at 601,711 tons.

IMEA expects soybean harvesting to accelerate in the coming days, during the Christmas and New Year holidays. The current weather is favorable for an early start to the soybean harvest, with a growing cycle of just over 95 days. Farmers will then start planting second crops.

However, Ms. Nadiara Pereira, a meteorologist at the Brazilian Meteorological Agency Climatempo, warned that heavy rains are occurring in the western part of Mato Grosso State, which may affect crop harvests. The rain cloud system in the northern half of Brazil brought persistent heavy rain to the northern and northeastern and western parts of Mato Grosso state. Further south in the state, there will also be more rain. There will also be plenty of rain during the last few days of December and early January, but the rains are in the form of showers and the days are clear, helping farmers continue harvesting in the fields. More rain is likely in January, she said.

Overall, Mato Grosso is the first state in Brazil to plant and harvest soybeans. IMEA estimates that this year’s soybean production will reach a record 41.46 million tons, an increase of 1.4% over the previous year.

The Brazilian Vegetable Oil Industry Association (ABIOVE) estimates that Brazil will export 93 million tons of soybeans in 2022/23, up from 77.5 million tons the previous year, with China the main buyer.