Weather problems may delay soybean harvest in Brazil until early January
Foreign media news on December 20: This year Brazilian farmers may harvest soybeans later than expected because of excessive rainfall in some areas, which delays the preparatory work in the field.
In the state of Mato Grosso, the number one main producing state, excessive rain and cloudy weather have delayed the spraying of fungicides and the use of machines to dry the leaves. The soybean harvest time will also be postponed to January, and initially farmers expected to start harvesting soybeans around Christmas.
The business director of Coacen, the largest cooperative in the state of Mato Grosso, said that some people will harvest after Christmas, but others will wait until next year. The harvest should be at full speed on January 5th, and most of the soybeans should be harvested within 30 days.
If Brazilian soybeans are delayed in the market, it may disrupt exporters’ plans. If the slow harvest results in delays in the arrival of soybeans at the port, shippers may turn to US soybeans for timely shipment.
Insiders said that the market expects soybeans to be available in January, but the freighter schedule has not yet shown this. The number of old beans is limited, and they need to be mixed and shipped with new beans. If soybeans are put on the market in batches, it will be challenging to ship such a large amount of soybeans for export in a short period of time.
From the price point of view, the market has expected a large supply of Brazilian soybeans to be launched in early February, and the price of Brazilian soybeans for February shipments is lower than that of US soybeans.
Data from the Brazilian National Commodity Supply Company (CONAB) shows that despite the weather problems in southern Brazil, soybean production will still reach a record 142 million tons, 4% higher than last year. The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture expects farmers’ income to reach a record 1.1 trillion reais ($193 billion), an increase of 10% from last year.
Clayton Gore, head of the Mato Grosso State Rural Economic Research Institute (IMEA), said that there will be rain during the soybean harvest, which will slow down field work, but the overall situation is still very good. The soybean harvest this year is very good. good.
The problem in southern Brazil is the dry and hot weather. In the western part of Parana State-Soybeans in this area are usually harvested as early as Mato Grosso State. Due to the lack of rainfall in September, soybeans were planted late and low soil moisture caused crop damage. Mark Berners, chairman of the Parana State Soybean Growers Association, said that it is not known how much has been lost, but there have been many losses. Now we will wait for the rain to see if the soybeans can survive.