São Paulo – The 2009/2010 grain crop in Brazil is going to hit a record. Output during the period, as disclosed by the National Food Supply Company (Conab), should be 146.31 million tonnes. The seventh survey of this year had the best result ever, 8.3% greater than last crop’s 135.13 million tonnes. The performance also shows an increase of 1.6% compared with last month (143.95 million tonnes) and exceeds the previous record, set in 2007/2008, when output totalled 144.14 million tonnes.
The reasons for the good performance? Abundant rain, expansion of the maize crop area during the second crop, and ahead-of-time planting of soy in the state of Mato Grosso. The soy crop should total 67.39 million tonnes, 17.9% or 10.22 million tonnes more than in the previous one.
The second maize crop saw growth of 19.5%, totalling 20.73 million tonnes. The combined output of the grain’s first and second crops was 54.14 million tonnes, 6.1% more than the previous result, representing growth of 3.13 million tonnes.
Approximately 50% of the overall crop has already been harvested. In Mato Grosso, the state that harvested the most so far, the process is in its final stages. In Goiás and in Paraná, 63% of the crop has been harvested. In Rio Grande do Sul, 27%. In the country as a whole, 60% of the first crop of maize has been harvested, 65% of soy and 40% of rice. The first bean crop has been harvested in its entirety.
Planted area has increased in the case of some cultures. The second crop of maize recorded growth of 24.8% (374,800 hectares) in the state of Mato Grosso and 13.8% (51,300 hectares) in Goiás. The area planted with soy increased as well, by 6.8% (1.48 million hectares).
*With information from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply. Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
