Brazil’s soybean planting ahead of last year, while exports slow

Brazil’s soybean planting campaign for the 2026/27 season is progressing faster than a year earlier. According to the National Supply Company (CONAB), 42.8% of the planned soybean area had been planted as of October 23, compared with 30.1% a week earlier and 34.8% at the same time last year. The current pace is also ahead of the five-year average of 40.2%.

Planting is progressing particularly rapidly in Mato Grosso, Brazil’s largest soybean-producing state, where 75.8% of the planned area has been planted, up from 60.8% a week earlier. This is also above the five-year average of 70.3%. In Paraná, planting has reached 47%, compared with 39% a week earlier, although progress remains below the five-year average of 53%.

According to CONAB, Brazil’s soybean production in 2026/27 could increase by 0.7% to a record 181.62 mln tons. The planted area is forecast at 49.3 mln ha, up 1.4% year-on-year. Meanwhile, average yields could decline by 0.8% to 3.683 tons/ha.

Despite expectations of a record crop, Brazil’s soybean export pace remains below last year’s level. According to Brazil’s Foreign Trade Secretariat (SECEX), the country exported 4.818 mln tons of soybeans from October 1 to 23, compared with 6.728 mln tons during the whole of October 2025. Average daily shipments reached 301.1 thsd tons, down 1.5% year-on-year.

Soybean export revenue totaled $2.36 bln during October 1–23, compared with $2.88 bln for the entire month of October last year. Meanwhile, the average export price increased by 14.4% year-on-year to $489.3/t. Thus, despite a slight slowdown in physical shipments, Brazilian soybeans remain more expensive than in the corresponding period last year.

Tags: export, Brazil, soybean