Brazil Soy Output Pared as Rain Damages Crops, Somar Says
Soybean farmers in Brazil, the world’s second-biggest exporter of the oilseed, lost about 1.8 million metric tons after heavy rain damaged crops and slowed the harvest, a weather forecaster said.
Above-average rainfall in Mato Grosso, the country’s top producing region, damaged about 800,000 tons, or 4 percent of the state’s expected output this year, said Marco Antonio dos Santos, a forecaster for Somar Meteorologia in Sao Paulo. Precipitation may have destroyed an additional 700,000 tons in northern Mato Grosso do Sul state and 300,000 tons in parts of Goias, he said.
Soybean prices rose 2.1 percent in Chicago last week on concern wet weather would pare Brazilian supplies. The price has risen 41 percent in the past year on record Chinese demand for soybeans from the U.S., the world’s largest grower. Soybean farmers in Brazil will harvest an estimated 70.3 million tons this year, up from 68.7 million tons last year, the Agriculture Ministry said on March 10.
“Rains tend to continue until April, so we may see more damage in crops,” dos Santos said.
Mato Grosso do Sul received 524 millimeters (21 inches) of rain in March through yesterday, more than three times the average for the entire month, Santos said. Mato Grosso had 20 days of rain in a 30-day period through today, preventing farmers from harvesting, Santos said.
Soybean farmers in Mato Grosso harvested 67 percent of the crop as of March 17, less than 93 percent harvested on the same period a year earlier because of rains, the state’s crop research institute, known as Imea, said on March 18. Growers in Mato Grosso do Sul harvested 53 percent of the crop, compared with 90 percent a year earlier, dos Santos said.
Soybean futures for May delivery rose half a cent to $13.63 a bushel today on the Chicago Board of Trade.
To contact the reporter on this story: Katia Cortes in Brasilia at at kcortes@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net
Rate this Page