Brazil’s soybean area grows to 49.1 mln ha

Area planted to soybeans in Brazil is projected to reach 49.1 million hectares in 2025-26, an increase of 3% year on year, according to the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture, and an upward revision of 300,000 hectares from its previous report.

The FAS, in its July 1 report, said soybean production is expected to follow suit and climb to 176 million tonnes in 2025-26, revised 3 million tonnes higher from its earlier report and up from 169.5 million tonnes in 2024-25.

“This increase is mainly driven by the expansion of soybean planted area, supported by high global demand, stable weather with an El Niño season and an increase in productivity compared to the prior and current years,” the FAS said.

The FAS projects the average national yield in Brazil to reach 3.58 tonnes/hectare during 2025-26, mainly due to more favorable weather conditions compared to the recent El Niño climate season, which also carried aftermath weather characteristics into the current year.

As area and production continue to achieve record levels, the FAS said sources within Brazil are suggesting the end of, or more flexibility in, the Soy Moratorium, could lead to a significant expansion of soybean planted area being reported in 2026.

The Soy Moratorium is an agreement established in 2006 by major soybean traders, environmental organizations, and the Brazilian government to prevent the sale of soybeans grown on land deforested in the Amazon biome after July 2008. The goal is to control deforestation driven by soybean expansion.

Various stakeholders — including agribusiness associations, members of the Agricultural Caucus (Bancada Ruralista) and certain trade companies — have advocated for the termination or relaxation of the Soy Moratorium. They have been contending that the policy unjustly restricts economic development in the Amazon region and contravenes Brazilian legislation on the issue, according to the FAS.

The FAS maintained its original projection for soybean exports for 2024-25 at 108.3 million tonnes. Trade shows that Brazil exported 16.9 million tonnes of soybeans to China during the first quarter of 2025, a nearly 7% jump compared to the 15.8 million tonnes exported during the same period in 2024.

The FAS revised its forecast of soybean exports for 2025-26 to 114 million tonnes, a 1.7% increase from its original estimate of 112 million tonnes.

Brazil’s soybean crush is seen reaching 58 million tonnes in 2025-26 compared to 57 million tonnes the previous year and 55.8 million tonnes in 2023-24. This expansion reflects Brazil’s large protein production industries requiring more soy meal for animal feed, as well as the government’s B15 biodiesel mandate, expected to take effect between 2025 and 2026, which boosts demand for soy oil as a key feedstock, the FAS noted.

“Recent internal consumption data indicate that Brazil’s soybean industry is becoming more vertically integrated, with greater value being added domestically rather than relying solely on raw soybean exports,” the FAS said. “As a result, the soybean complex (grains, meal, and oil) is playing an increasingly critical role in Brazil’s internal economic activity, linking agriculture with energy (biodiesel) and food production chains.”

Tags: Brazil, soybean, sown area