According to COFCO, Brazil’s soybean area will grow at the slowest rate in a decade in 2024/25

China’s COFCO International expects area under soybeans in Brazil in 2024/25 to grow at the slowest pace in a decade compared with the previous season, a top company executive told Reuters.

Luiz Noto, head of grains and oilseeds at COFCO in Brazil, the world’s largest soybean producer and exporter, said the company expects local plantings to total about 47 million hectares in the new season.

He did not disclose exactly how much COFCO estimates Brazil’s soybean acreage will grow compared with the previous cycle, but said growth will be the slowest in 10 years, citing shrinking margins as global soybean prices hover near four-year lows.

Brazil’s soybean acreage in 2023/24 was about 46 million hectares, according to national agriculture agency Conab.

Noto said that despite slower growth, Brazil’s soybean crop in 2024/25 could reach a record 168 million metric tons, given that weather conditions will be more similar to historical conditions than in the previous cycle.

According to Conab, Brazil will produce 147.4 million metric tons of soybeans in 2023/24, down from the record 154.6 million metric tons recorded in the previous cycle.

Brazil will produce 147.4 million tons of soybeans in 2023/24, down from the record 154.6 million tons recorded in the previous cycle, according to Conab.

According to the agricultural agency, in the last 10 years, Brazil’s slowest year-on-year increase in planted area was in 2016/17, when the increase over the previous crop was estimated at 1.98%.

Tags: COFCO, Brazil, soybean