Brazil sees higher grains, oilseeds output

Brazil's 2019-20 grains and oilseeds crop is expected to reach a record of 246.4mn metric tonnes (t), 1.8pc higher than the prior cycle, with soybeans pushing up the forecast despite unfavorable weather at the start of planting.

The estimate released today by Brazil's agricultural statistics agency (Conab) is also higher than 245.8mn t estimated last month. This was the second Conab report on the 2019-20 cycle.

Total planted area was estimated at 64.1mn ha, a 1.4pc increase year on year.

Soybean sowing is poised to reach 36.7mn ha in 2019-20, or 2.3pc more on the 2018-19 acreage, Conab said. The harvest is forecast at a record of nearly 121mn t versus 120.4mn expected last month and 115mn t in the prior season.

Conab did not give a reason for the month on month estimate increase. A lack of rainfall in September and early October hampered the oilseed planting pace in states such as Parana, where the crop quality is worse in comparison to this time last year.

The output forecast for corn remained at 98.4mn t, a 1.7pc decrease from the 2018-19 production. Of this total, almost 71mn t is composed only by winter corn — the so-called "safrinha" is the main corn harvest in Brazil and takes place after the soybean harvest.

The quality of summer corn crops in the southern states of Rio Grande do Sul and Parana is good, according to Conab.

The agency also forecast cotton lint production at 2.7mn t, nearly unchanged from last month and the 2018-19 estimate.

The estimate for Brazilian soybean exports was kept at 72mn t, from 70mn t in the prior season, while corn shipments could reach 34mn t, down from a 39mn t record in 2018-19 and flat to the October estimate. Brazil is the global top exporter of the oilseed and the second-largest exporter of the cereal.

Cotton lint exports reached a record of 2mn t, up from 1.8mn last month and up from around 1.4mn in 2018-19.

By José Roberto Gomes