Mato Grosso lifts Brazil soybean harvest progress to 1.8%: Agrural

Advances in Brazil’s largest soybean producing state of Mato Grosso has lifted the pace of Brazil’s harvest last week, with nationwide progress rising 1.4 percentage points, Curitiba-based consultants Agrural said Monday.

Yet total progress, now at 1.8%, lags last year’s 6.3% as harvests in other states – including Parana – are yet to gain traction owing to planting delays in Q3 last year amid dry weather.

“In the other states, where harvesters are only passing through limited areas at this time, the harvest should only gain momentum in February, due to the delay in planting,” Agrural said.

And while an even faster pace is expected in Mato Grosso through to the end of this month, heavy rain forecasts could delay progress in some areas of the state. 

The agency maintained its bumper production forecast at 123.9 million mt, up from December’s view of 122.2 million mt, owing to positive productivity reports from Mato Grosso last week.

The production estimate will be reviewed again in February, Agrural added.

In states that planted later – including Rio Grande do Sul in the south – ample rainfall last week aided crop development, although areas that had planted earlier are likely to see some productivity losses because of dry weather in December.