Expert downgrades Brazil’s soybean crop estimate

Brazilian farmers may harvest about 149.71 million tons of soybeans in the season-2023/24. This forecast was announced by analysts of the consulting agency “SAFRAS&Mercado”, reducing their new estimate relative to the previous one from 151.25 million tons, which is nevertheless below the level of MY 2022/23 (157.83 million tons).

“However, despite the downward adjustments, the said volume remains the second largest in history for the country,” the experts pointed out.

The main reason why the experts reduced their forecast is the floods in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, which affected the average soybean yield in the region.

“In particular, excessive rainfall caused significant losses of crops that had not yet been harvested, as well as soybeans that were already in silos and warehouses,” the agency explained.

At the same time, the estimate of the national oilseed yield may be higher (3.55 t/ha vs. 3.27 t/ha in MY 2022/23) on the back of improved climatic conditions in the first quarter in the center and north of Brazil.

Tags: Brazil, soybean, crop forecast