Brasília – Brazil produced 148.99 million tonnes of grain in the 2009/2010 crop. The figures, calculated after the 12th and last balance of the cycle, by the National Food Supply Company (Conab), were disclosed by the Ministry of Agriculture. The figure is the highest in history, exceeding the 144.1 million tonnes in the 2007/2008 crop. With regard to the previous cycle, of 135.13 million tonnes, the growth was 10.3%.
In the previous study, the forecast had been for the grain crop to total 147.1 million tonnes. According to the ministry, the growth of 1.9 million tonnes from one to the next edition of the study was mainly due to an adjustment in the area and of grain productivity in the states of Goiás and Mato Grosso.
Soy and maize, the main products in the crop in terms of volume, had great growth. Whereas the growth in the former was 20.2% (or 11.52 million tonnes) as against the previous crop, reaching 68.69 million tonnes, the latter had growth of 10%, reaching 56.12 million tonnes.
The area cultivated with grain in the country in the 2009/2010 cycle was 47.32 million hectares. Despite the considerable growth in production, the cultivated area had a reduction of 0.7% (351,000 hectares). The research was promoted by 59 technicians who heard representatives of cooperatives and rural unions and public and private organisations between August 23rd and 25th.
*Translated by Mark Ament
