Soybean sales at 31pc of Mato Grosso harvest

Sales of soybean produced in Brazil's west-central state of Mato Grosso reached 31pc of anticipated 2019-20 production in the latest month, up from 25.3pc a month earlier, according to the state Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea).

A year ago at this time, soybean sales accounted for 28pc of the state's expected seasonal production of 32.5mn metric tons (t).

The outlook for soybean production in Mato Grosso is 32.8mn t for 2019-20, up by 1pc from the 2018-19 season. The state accounts for around 30pc of Brazil's production.

Sales of soybean produced in the 2018-19 season ended in June are almost complete in Mato Grosso, reaching 94.9pc of harvest this month, up by 7.9 percentage points from the prior month, which is unusual for the final stretch of the marketing year, according to Imea.

The latest appreciation in soybean prices in August boosted sales of oilseed grown in Mato Grosso and producers who were holding onto supply took advantage of the prices to fill orders, according to Imea. The appreciation of the US dollar versus the Brazilian real also boosted the competitiveness of Brazilian-grown soybeans. Increased demand from China because of its trade war with the US also boosted Brazilian soybean prices.

Volumes traded in August at an average price of R71.27 ($17.7)/bag of 60 kg for the 2018-19 crop, up by 9.4 percentage points from the previous month. One bag is equivalent to 2.2 bushels. These were the highest prices recorded since the beginning of the seasonal negotiations in May.

Sales of corn from the 2018-19 season in Mato Grosso state reached 87.4pc of estimated output of 31.1mn t. The sales last month were at 83pc of output. Imea said the sales advanced at a faster pace between July and August, when they rose by 6 percentage points as cereal prices in Chicago moved higher.

Sales from the 2019-20 corn harvest are at 35.8pc of estimated output of 31.1mn t. Planting of winter corn will begin just after the harvest of soybean from the 2019-20 season.

Imea also reported on sales of cotton lint. Almost 81pc of estimated 2018-19 production of 1.85mn t has been sold. For the 2019-20 harvest, sales reached 44pc of 1.85mn t estimated production. One year ago, sales were at 61pc of production, largely because of higher cotton prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange at that time.