RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazilian producers will expand their soybean acreage for the 15th consecutive year due to strong demand, a survey by consultancy Datagro showed Friday.
According to Datagro, soybean acreage in the world’s largest producer and exporter is expected to increase 4% to 40.57 million hectares in the 2021/2022 cycle. Brazil should produce about 144 million tons of soybeans in the next harvest, which will begin around September.
If confirmed, next year’s production, which will be harvested starting in late January, will be 5% higher than the estimated production of 136.96 million tons in 2021, according to Datagro.
Brazilian corn acreage will expand about 4% to 4.56 million hectares in the new season as demand remains strong for the grain, an important ingredient in livestock feed, forecasters said.
Based on regular weather patterns, Brazil’s first corn crop in the 2021/2022 cycle is estimated to reach 28.83 million tons, 16% more than the 24.91 million tons from the previous cycle, the consultancy said.
Brazilian second crop corn acreage is also expected to increase by 5% to 16.37 million hectares in the next cycle.
Barring weather problems, Datagro said Brazilian farmers could increase second-crop corn production to 90.84 million tons by 2022, 45% higher than the volume forecast for the current crop, in which drought and an early frost damaged much of the crop.