Rio de Janeiro – The Brazilian crop should reach 157.5 million tonnes in 2012, a figure 1.5% higher than that of 2011 (159.9 million tonnes). The estimate was culled from the February edition of the Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production, released this Thursday (8th) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The forecasted volume of grain, leguminous and oleaginous plants is 0.8% lower than the January 2012 estimate (158.7 million tonnes).
According to the survey, 50.3 million hectares should be harvested in 2012, a 3.4% increase over 2011. When compared with the preceding year, rice and soy production should decrease by 13.2% and 9.3%, respectively, whereas maize should increase by 12.8%. As for the forecasted harvest area, rice should drop by 9.6%, maize should increase by 11.3% and soy should increase by 2.1%. Soy, maize and rice account for a combined 90.7% of total production and 83.1% of the area harvested.
The Midwest region of Brazil remains the leading prouducer, at 60.3 million tonnes, followed by the South (57.9 million tonnes), the Southeast (18.3 million tonnes), the Northeast (16.7 million tonnes) and the North (4.3 million tonnes). The Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production (LSPA, in the Portuguese acronym) covers the main crops on a monthly basis.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
