Brazil: Producers in Bahia Optimistic Concerning 2022/23 Growing Season

The Technical Council of the Association of Irrigated Agriculture of Bahia (Aiba) recently released their first evaluation of the 2022/23 growing season in western Bahia and they are expecting increased acreage and yields for both soybeans and corn. The cotton acreage is expected to only increase slightly, but cotton yields are expected to increase with improved weather compared to last year.

Bahia is the largest grain/fiber producing state in northeastern Brazil and the 2021/22 growing season ended up disappointing due to the onset of dry weather in March before the crops had a chance to mature.

The 2022/23 soybean acreage in western Bahia is expected to increase 4.5% from 1.78 million hectares last year (4.39 million acres) to 1.86 million this year (4.59 million acres). The acreage of irrigated soybeans is expected to increase 42% to 35,000 hectares (86,450 acres). The soybean yields in western Bahia are expected to be in the range of 66 sacks per hectare (59 bu/ac).

The prospects for corn production in the region are also optimistic. If the weather cooperates during the growing season, farmers are expecting corn yields as high as 180 sacks per hectare (171.7 bu/ac), which would be up 32% compared to the 136 sacks per hectare recorded last year (122.4 bu/ac).

Most of the irrigated acreage in western Bahia is devoted to cotton production and the cotton acreage in the region is only expected to increase slightly from 307,000 hectares to 308,000 hectares (758,000 to 760,700 acres). Cotton yields are expected to increase 15.6% and the total cotton production is expected to increase 15.8%.

Aiba is composed of representatives of producer associations, multinational agricultural companies, financial institutions, and government agencies.

Tags: soybeans, crops, yields, acreage, Bahia, cotton, corn, Brazil, weather