Brasília – Weather-related issues have rendered Brazil unable to surpass the United States in soy production, but remaining in second place “is a great progress,” according to the secretary of Agricultural Policy to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Neri Geller. “Over the past ten years, we have seen extraordinary growth both in recovery of degraded pastures and especially in yield per hectare,” said Geller.
According to him, the government has fostered production by sponsoring sales, credit and insurance. “Sadly, we have had problems with the weather which prevented us from outstripping the United States, yet our potential is very strong. Surely, for years to come, Brazilian agriculture will continue to provide an economic foundation to the country,” he added.
This Wednesday (12th), the National Supply Company (Conab, in the Portuguese acronym) released the sixth survey of the 2013/2014 grain crop. The soy crop should amount to 85.4 million tonnes in 2013/2014, up 4.8% from 2012/2013’s 81.5 million tonnes. However, compared with 90 million tonnes as per the Conab’s prior survey, the output estimate has declined. The reason for this 2.5% reduction in expected output is climate problems.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
