Conab, the official Brazilian crop agency has reduced its latest estimate for Brazil’s corn crop from 82.6 million tons to 79.6 million tons based on planting delays caused by adverse weather conditions. Planting in Parana is only 30% completed and only 50% completed in Rio Grande do Sul because of heavy rains; and in Mato Grosso the opposite is true, conditions are too dry. For soybeans, Conab has raised its estimate from between 84.7million tons – 89.9 million tons to between 87.6 million tons – 89.7 million tons based on the expectation of a 5.9% increase in area planted by farmers because of ‘remunerative prices’. The agency has also cut its estimate for Brazil’s wheat crop to 4.77 million tons because of a July frost that has cut production in Parana by half. Despite this damage the extra area planted should enable the country to cut imports to 6.7 million tons for the year ending July 2014 from 7 million tons the year before.
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