Drought hits Brazil corn in key southern state – StoneX

A drought is compromising corn fields in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state, which is now expected to produce 4.51 million tonnes of the cereal, according to a forecast by StoneX on Thursday.

The revised output figure is less than a previously forecast 5.38 million tonnes of corn production for the state in the 2022/2023 cycle.

Despite frequently ranking among the main producers of summer corn and soybeans, it is not uncommon for Rio Grande do Sul to suffer from climatic adversities, StoneX said.

The 2021/2022 season, for example, was marked by considerably drier-than-normal weather at a time of great importance for the development of crops.

In that season, StoneX had estimated summer corn output at 5.76 million tonnes in Brazil’s southernmost state. However, at the end of that cycle, dryness caused production to fall to an estimated 2.56 million tonnes.

StoneX said it is early to predict whether the current dry weather will also affect the state’s soybean crop, noting this will become clearer in January and February as fields develop.

For now, Rio Grande do Sul’s soybean crop is estimated at above 22 million tonnes in the present cycle, representing a hefty rise from the roughly 11 million tonnes of the prior season, when lack of rains spoiled almost half of the crop, StoneX data show.

Rio Grande do Sul is among Brazil’s biggest corn and soybean producers.

Brazilian farmers plant up to three corn crops in some regions, with first and second corn, also referred to as summer and winter corn, representing the bulk of production.

This month, Brazil’s food supply and statistics agency Conab cut its forecast for Brazil’s first corn to 27.2 million tonnes, citing the drought in Rio Grande do Sul. It kept second corn output projection at 96.27 million tonnes.

Tags: Brazil, drought, corn