Parana expects more soy, but less corn crops

Brazil's southern state of Parana raised its estimate for the current 2019-20 soybean crop to a record of more than 20mn t, while its forecast for the winter corn crop (safrinha) dropped on a lack of recent rainfall stressing plantations in some areas.

Parana is poised to harvest 20.7mn t of the oilseed this season, slightly higher than February's estimate (20.4mn t) and a 28pc jump over the 2018-29 cycle, when a drought impacted the crop, Parana's Department of Rural Economics (Deral-PR) said.

So far, 92pc of the 5.5mn ha sowed with soybean in the state has been harvested.

Deral-PR said 54pc of the current production has already been traded. A year ago, 35pc of the 2018-19 harvest had been traded, while the three-year average for this time of year is 39pc. Farmers took advantage of higher prices and attractive currency exchange rates this year to hedge the most they could of their harvest.

Corn and wheat

Parana's winter corn crop is pegged at 12mn t, lower in comparison to both February's projection (12.4mn t) and the 13.3mn t in the last cycle. Local farmers have virtually completed the 2019-20 planting, seen at 2.2mn ha, but "occasional situations such as the absence of rain for several days caused some apprehension," Deral-PR said.

The safrinha is the main corn crop in Parana. Sowed after the soybean harvest, its development is usually more susceptible to weather risks as it occurs during drier months. The state also plants summer corn, whose production is expected to increase by 9pc year-on-year to 3.5mn t.

Deral-PR also released its first estimate for the 2020 wheat crop for Parana, Brazil's top producer of the cereal. Local farmers are expected to plant 1.1mn ha, which is down by 7pc from last year, and harvest 3.5mn t, a 63pc increase.

By José Roberto Gomes