Soybean sales at 36pc of Mato Grosso harvest

Soybean sales in Mato Grosso, Brazil´s top grain producing state, in October reached 36pc of estimated production for the full 2019-20 season, according to state Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea).

The pace of sales is faster than one year ago, when 33.9pc of the estimated production for the 2018-19 season was already sold. Sales were at 31pc of the estimated 2019-20 harvest in September.

The depreciation of the Brazilian real against the dollar has helped maintain the competitiveness of Brazilian soybean exports despite the drop in port premiums against the prices at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). The possibility of a trade accord between China and the US reduced the price premium of Brazilian output by around 24pc in the last month, said Imea.

Planting for the 2019-20 soybean season has recently started and is about 7pc completed of the total 9.78mn hectare (24mn acre) estimated acreage. Imea forecasts 33mn tonnes (t) production for the season.

Sales of corn from the 2018-19 season in Mato Grosso state reached 93pc of the estimated total output of 32.3mn t, up from 87.4pc in September.

For the 2019-20 corn season, sales reached 41.9pc of estimated total output of 31.6mn t. Planting of winter corn will begin after the soybean harvest for the 2019-20 season.

Imea also reported sales of cotton lint. Almost 82pc of estimated 2018-19 production of 1.85mn t has been sold. For the 2019-20 harvest, sales reached 50.5pc of 1.85mn t estimated production. One year ago, sales were at 62pc of production, largely because of higher cotton prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange at that time.