Rio de Janeiro – Agricultural production in Brazil in 2013 reached 188.1 million tonnes, an all-time high and up 16.1% from 2012. Crop value was R$ 232.5 billion (US$ 86.8 billion), up 14% from 2012, as per the 2013 Municipal Agricultural Production Survey (PAM, in the Portuguese acronym) released this Tuesday (16th) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
The survey shows that in 2013, 72.4 million hectares were farmed in the country, up 3.2 million from 2012, mostly due to larger soy and maize crops. Of the 64 products surveyed, soy, cane and maize contributed to production value the most, at 29.7%, 18.5% and 11.5% of total crops. These crops combined account for nearly 60% of Brazilian production, “driven by good market prices,” the IBGE says.
Due to dry spells in Northeast Brazil in 2012 and 2013, the price of cassava, for instance, regarded as one of the staple foods for Brazilians, was down 6.8%, holding back production, which was up 28.5% nonetheless, influencing overall figures.
The survey of agricultural output also shows that production declined in 2013 from 2012 for 33 crops, and increased for 31. Soy hit a new record at 81.7 million tonnes, up 24%.
Last year, sugarcane output was also a record at 768.1 million tonnes, up 6.5%; maize output was up 12.9%. “This was so because second crop output for maize was significantly higher in Mato Grosso state, due to higher investment and good weather during autumn,” the survey says. Despite having suffered the effects of belated frost, the wheat crop was up 29.9% to 5.7 million tonnes.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
