Brazilian grain production in the 2018/2019 harvest is expected to reach 240.7 million tons, an increase of 5.7% compared to the previous cycle and also represents a record, according to data from the 10th Grain Harvest Survey, released this Thursday (11), by the National Supply Company (Conab).
According to the agency, the planted area is expected to be 62.9 million hectares, which represents an increase of 1.9% in relation to the previous harvest.
One of the biggest highlights of the period, compared to the previous cycle, is the second corn crop, with a forecast record production of 72.4 million tons, an increase of 34.2%. The first corn crop is expected to reach 26.2 million tons, a decrease of 2.5%. Another highlight is cotton, with an increase in production of around 32.9%. This is equivalent to the volume of 6.7 million tons of seed cotton or 2.7 million tons of lint cotton. In the case of soybeans, there is a reduction of 3.6% in production, reaching 115 million tons. The Central-West and South regions account for more than 78% of this production.
Rice production is estimated at 10.4 million tons, 13.6% lower than in 2017/18, due to reductions in the main producing states. First-crop beans also showed a reduction (22.5%), reaching 996.9 thousand tons. The favorable weather contributed to a production of 1.3 million tons of second-crop beans, 7.1% higher than the previous one. And the third crop, with planting completed in mid-July, should have a production of 721.5 thousand tons, 17.5% higher than the volume already produced in 2017/18.
The products with the largest increases in planted area were second-crop corn (819.2 thousand ha), soybeans (717.4 thousand ha) and cotton (425.5 thousand ha). Soybeans showed a growth of 2% in the planted area, reaching 35.9 million ha.
