Paraná, one of the main grain producers in Brazil, had harvested until Monday 33 percent of the area planted with soybeans in the 2018/19 season, an increase of eight percentage points compared to the previous week, estimated this Tuesday the Department of Rural Economy (Deral), of the State government. After the fastest planting in its history, harvesting work is also much more advanced compared to last season, when on February 19 producers had harvested only 9 percent of the area.
In the current harvest, however, the hot and dry weather that dropped the harvest by around 3 million tons, to 16.8 million tons, according to Deral, also accelerated harvesting work. According to the survey released this Tuesday, 65 percent of crops are in “good” condition, compared to 86 percent in February 2018, when Paraná harvested a record harvest.
The State was one of the most affected by the drought this season, helping the Ministry of Agriculture to further reduce Brazilian production this Tuesday, to 115.34 million tons of the oilseed. For the next ten days, most of the State is expected to receive rain above the average for the period, which could harm harvesting work, while at the same time favoring newly sown second-crop corn crops. To date, Paraná has planted 47 percent of the “safrinha”, and most of the fields (93 percent) are in good condition, according to Deral.
