January 21, 2015

Brazil’s safrinha, or second corn crop, which has grown in production to outpace the country’s yearly ‘main’ corn crop, and which is the main source for Brazil’s corn exports, will see a 10% decline in sowing because of adverse weather conditions and downward pressure on prices. Safrinha corn acreage, which is planted on soybean land after the harvest, will likely prove to be well below the 9.2 million hectares that Brazil’s official crop bureau, Conab, has estimated. This decline is a reflection of corn prices coming close to the cost of production in many regions of the country, and the recent strengthening of the Brazilian real, which has lowered the value of grain assets which are valued in dollars. A lack of rainfall has also played into the lower sowing. Some areas of the main growing region of Mato Grosso have had no rainfall for three weeks in January, usually the height of the rainy season. If the dryness continues through February, the decline in sowing could likely exceed 10%, however if rains do come in February, it would interfere with the progress of the soybean harvest.

Read the article

To receive relevant news stories with summaries provided by GAI Research & Insight, subscribe to Global AgDevelopments, our free weekly enhanced eNews service