Brazil 2023/24 second corn crop to hit 96.7 million tons

Adverse weather conditions in Brazil’s Parana and Mato Grosso do Sul states are spoiling the country’s second corn crop outlook, according to Agroconsult, an agribusiness consultancy which is kicking off a countrywide field expedition this week.

Agroconsult said on Wednesday that Brazil’s 2023/24 second corn crop, which is planted after soybeans are harvested in the same areas, is expected to reach 96.7 million metric tons, down 10.5% from the previous season.

“Despite being a smaller harvest, there is good yield potential in Mato Grosso and Goias, offsetting part of the losses in Mato Grosso do Sul and Parana,” Agroconsult’s Crop Tour Coordinator Andre Debastiani said in a statement.

The initial expectation of a shorter planting window for second-corn did not materialize, Agroconsult said. The shortening of the soybean cycle “opened a very favorable window for corn planting in the main producing regions,” according to the consultancy.

Second corn represents 70%-80% of national corn production depending on the season, and is mainly exported in the second half of the year by Brazil to countries such as China.

Most of the producing areas in Mato Grosso, Brazil’s top grain state, are looking good, with well-distributed rainfall during the development stage, Agroconsult said. The state recorded the second fastest second corn planting pace in its history.

Parana and Mato Grosso do Sul, despite having sown crops in a much more favorable time window than in the previous harvest, are expected to record losses resulting from the dry weather during March and April.

“The scenario in Mato Grosso do Sul, without a doubt, is the most worrying. The entire southern region of the state was affected by drought, which has already caused irreversible damage,” Debastiani said.

Tags: corn, Brazil, crop forecast