Higher Prices May Encourage More Safrinha Corn in Mato Grosso

The spot price of corn in Mato Grosso closed last week at R$ 57.00 per sack (approximately $4.35 per bushel), which represented an increase of R$ 21.41 per sack compared to a year ago (approximately $1.65 per bushel) according to the Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea).

The improved corn price is expected to encourage farmers in Mato Grosso to plant more safrinha corn than had originally been expected. Imea is expecting farmers in Mato Grosso to plant 6.84 million hectares of safrinha corn (16.89 million acres), which is up 0.7% compared to a month earlier ad up 0.5% compared to 2023/24.

One thing that farmers are concerned about is that approximately two thirds of the soybeans were planted in a narrow two-week period during the second half of October and early November. Therefore, the soybean harvest will also be concentrated in a narrow window at the end of January and early February, which can be a rainy period in central Brazil. Any delay in the soybean harvest due to wet conditions would also delay the safrinha corn planting as well.

Tags: corn, planting, Mato Grosso, safrinha corn, spot price