The production of second harvest corn in Brazil could reach the amount of 68.2 million tons, registering an increase of 22.6% in relation to last year's harvest and, also, an unprecedented volume of production, according to data from the Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production (LSPA), from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
In the institute's assessment, the increase in second-crop corn production is one of the main factors that should boost the national grain harvest, which should reach 234.7 million tons this year, 3.6% above the 2018 harvest.
According to the research manager, Carlos Antônio Barradas, the increase in production is due to a series of factors: “the agricultural year started earlier. The rains predicted for October fell in the second half of September, bringing forward the planting of soybeans. This expanded the corn planting window, which in turn caught favorable weather for longer. And the increase in prices at planting time completed the positive picture.”
The largest increases in corn production volume, in relation to April, were estimated for Mato Grosso (8.3%, or 2.2 million tons) and Sergipe (39.2%, or 203.9 thousand tons).
The national production estimate compared to 2018 is a drop of 4.5% for soybeans and 11.2% for rice, and an increase of 15.7% for corn.
Post: Marina Carvejani
