Soybean Harvest Starts in Brazil’s Northernmost State of Roraima

The vast majority of Brazil lies in the Southern Hemisphere, but the northernmost state of Roraima lies north of the equator bordering on Venezuela and in the Northern Hemisphere The growing season in Roraima is similar to that of the rest of North America.

Farmers in Roraima plant their soybeans in April and May and harvest them in August and September. According to the president of the Soybean & Corn Producers Association of Roraima (Aprosoja-RR), the early soybean harvest has already started in the state.

The rain started in mid-April and there has not been any prolonged periods of dryness during the growing season. Yields are expected to be quite good in the range of 65 to 70 sacks per hectare (58.1 to 62.5 bushels per acre). The soybeans in Roraima are produced in the part of the state that has cerrado type vegetation, which is similar to what is found in central Brazil.

Soybean production in Roraima is a small fraction of the soybeans produced in Brazil. Conab estimates that farmers in the state planted 142,100 hectares of soybeans (351,000 acres) in 2023/24, which equates to 0.3% of 46.02 million hectares planted in 2023/24 (113.6 million acres). The production is estimated at 426,300 tons, which is 0.29% of the 147.3 million tons estimated by Conab for 2023/24

Farmers in the state have forward contracted approximately half of their anticipated soybean production. They are reluctant to contract more of the crop in the hope of higher prices.

Tags: harvest, Brazil, soybeans, Production, yelds, Roraima, estimate