National grain production in the 2022/23 harvest may reach 309.9 million tons. Almost half of this volume comes from soy crops, representing a harvest of around 151.4 million tons. The data are from the 6th Grain Harvest Survey, released this Thursday (9) by the National Supply Company (Conab).
According to Conab, this volume, if confirmed, represents an increase of 20.6% above that recorded in the previous period, which indicates a recovery in crop productivity, which were affected by adverse weather conditions in the 2021/22 period.
“The current estimate of oilseed production grows compared to the past cycle, but represents a negative variation of 1% in relation to the last Conab announcement due to the intensification, in February, of the damage caused by the drought in Rio Grande do Sul. However, these losses were partially offset by the gains observed in Tocantins, São Paulo, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul”, said the company’s president, Guilherme Ribeiro.
Conab also informs that the harvest progresses in all producing regions, with percentages below in comparison with the 2021/22 harvest. The slower pace is explained by specific causes, including excessive rainfall, which makes it difficult for machinery to move through the fields and precipitation during harvesting.
The survey points out that, in some areas, soy planting was carried out late, as in certain producing locations in Goiás and Matopiba (an area that includes the states of Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia), while in other regions, lower temperatures were recorded, which had an impact on grain development, lengthening the crop cycle.
This delay has an impact on the sowing of corn 2nd crop, which has already sown 63.6% of the area planned for the crop throughout the country. In the same period last year, this index reached close to 75%. Even so, the company projects a growth in production of 11.3%, which could reach 95.6 million tons.
“It is important to highlight that sowing corn outside the ideal window can increase risks during the development of crops, and there is no guarantee of how the crop will develop in adverse weather conditions”, says the superintendent of Agricultural Information at Conab, Candice Romero Santos.
In the first cereal harvest, the expected harvest is approximately 26.76 million tons, 6.9% above the 2021/22 harvest.
Cotton, another important 2nd crop crop, has already been completely planted. There was an increase of 4% in the area, reaching 1.66 million hectares, informed Conab. “With this, the expectation is that the lint harvest will reach 2.78 million tons. For rice, production is estimated at 9.9 million tons, 8.4% less than the volume produced in the past season due to area reduction, combined with adverse weather conditions, especially in Rio Grande do Sul, the largest producing state. In the case of beans, Conab estimates a harvest of 2.92 million tons, adding the three harvests”.
* With information from Conab
