Brazil's central-western Mato Grosso state increased its estimates for 2026-27 soybean crop production costs in December from November because of higher pesticides and fertilizer expenses.
The operational costs outlook reached R4,201/hectare ($781/ha) in December, up by 0.5pc from the previous estimate, according to the state's institute of agricultural economics Imea.
Pesticides cost estimates rose by 3pc from November to nearly R1,389/ha. Estimated fertilizer costs increased to R1,805/ha from R1,791/ha in the previous month. But seed costs dropped by nearly 6pc from November's estimate to around R513/ha.
December estimates costs were 0.5pc above the consolidated R4,181/ha from the 2025-26 crop costs. Pesticide costs led the increase, with a 14pc hike from last season's R1,218/ha.
Seeds and fertilizer estimates were nearly 15pc and 4pc below 2025-26 costs, respectively, at R607/ha and R1,881/ha.
Corn
Operational cost estimates for the 2025-26 corn crop using advanced technologies — which includes inputs, machinery and labor, among others — increased slightly to R3,320/ha from the R3,311/ha in November, Imea data show.
Seed costs are now estimated at around R778/ha, up by 0.5pc from a month prior. Fertilizer and pesticide costs rose by 0.3pc and 0.1pc to R1,422/ha and R738/ha, respectively.
December estimates costs were 2.6pc above the consolidated R3,237/ha from the 2024-25 crop costs. Fertilizer costs led the increase, with a 6pc hike from last season's R1,422/ha.
Seeds and pesticides estimates were nearly 2pc and 0.2pc above 2024-25 costs, respectively, at R763/ha and R736/ha in the previous season.
Cotton
Imea consolidated its 2025-26 cotton production costs at R10,776/ha, a 12pc rise from the previous season's R9,590/ha.
Pesticide costs led the increase with a 16pc hike to R4,670/ha, up from R4,013/ha on the year. Fertilizer costs rose by 9.8pc to R3,891/ha, also above the R3,543/ha from the 2024-25 season.
The consolidated seed costs increased by 5.5pc to R1,045/ha, above last cycle's R991/ha.
Imea also released the first production costs estimate for the 2026-27 cotton crop at R10,654/ha, a 1pc drop from the 2025-26 consolidated figure.
Fertilizer costs led the decrease with a 7.6pc drop to R3,593/ha from 2025-26.
Seeds costs increased by almost 13pc to R1,177/ha. Pesticides costs estimates rose by 2.7pc to R4,799/ha from 2025-26.
The 2025-26 crop costs in December were calculated based on an average exchange rate of R5.3882/$1 for soybeans, R5.5791/$1 for corn and R5.5870/$1 for cotton. The first 2026-27 cotton crop costs estimates were calculated based on an average exchange rate of R5.4525/$1.
