July 13, 2015
Brazil to see 6.5% rise for 2015 crop, bureau says
The Brazilian Statistics Bureau (IBGE) predicts a good harvest for 2015 with a total of 205.8 million tonnes based on their June data published on July 9.
This represents an increase of 6.5% compared with the harvest of grains, vegetables and oilseeds of 2014. Compared with the data from May, the prediction has also increased by 0.7% or 1.4 million tonnes.
The three main crops in Brazil are soybean, corn and rice, and they make up 91.9% of the predicted harvest. They are grown on 86.1% of the total agricultural area. Soybean gained an additional 5.5% of the harvested land.
A record year for soy production is predicted, with 96.4 million tonnes to be harvested, 0.2% more than what was predicted in May. The state of Mato Grosso in the Center-West region of Brazil is the top producer of soybean, accounting for nearly a third of all soybean fields.
For corn, while the harvested area dropped by 3.5%, production is predicted to rise 1.9%.
The Center-West region of Brazil is the key agricultural region of the country, predicted to contribute more than 40% of the 2015 crop, followed by the South with about 37%. The Southeast, Northeast and North of Brazil each produce less than 10% of total production.