The soybean production in Uruguay In the 2022/2023 agricultural year, characterized by the adverse impacts of the worst drought in several decades, according to sources from the public and private sectors, it barely reached a quarter of what was harvested in the previous harvestwith a yield measured in kilos per hectare which was the lowest since 1998when the presence of the oilseed in the national area of ​​the farm was still insignificant, since it was affirmed (in extension and in yield) beginning the first decade of this century.
Based on data presented in the Agricultural Survey Winter 2023prepared by professionals from the Directorate of Agricultural Statistics (DIEA) of the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP), in the last harvest the soybean area considered one million hectares, of which 25% was lostwith a production of 650,000 tons and a yield of just over 600 kg/ha, all approximate data (see exact data below).
The indicated decrease in production had been brought forward to The Observer a few weeks ago by Leonardo Olivera, general director of the Agricultural Services of the MGAP.
Data from the previous harvest
In 2021/2022, without the setbacks of this last productive cycle, the data was: 991.9 thousand hectares, a production of 2.7 million tons of soybeans and an average yield of 2,799 kg/ha.
Soybean, in the case of the recent summer cycle, led as usual in the last five years within the set of summer crops, followed by corn with 188,000 hectares (1,415 kg/ha) and further away, sorghum with 27.4 thousand hectares (876 kg/ha) and sunflower with 11.7 thousand hectares (896 kg/ha).