(NAFB) – Brazilian soybean crop estimates dropped sharply last week because of weather concerns.
A mix of conditions that are too dry in some areas and too wet in others means the Brazil crop will no longer be a record-setter. Successful Farming says the crop should come in around 133.4 million metric tons, down from a previous forecast at 144.7 million metric tons.
Rio Grande do Sul, the third-largest bean producer in Brazil, recently saw nine out of the ten hottest temps in the country during the previous week. The top temperature was 102.2 degrees. About 15 percent of the soybeans are blooming going into the key crop development period in January and February. In Parana, the second-largest producing state in the country, only half of the crop is pod-filling and big losses are ahead.
USDA expects Brazil to produce 144 million metric tons of soybeans, but that estimate came from the December WASDE report.