Brazil GM crop planted area to reach 40 million ha in 2013/14

The area planted with genetically modified of soybeans, corn and cotton should occupy 40.3 million hectares during the summer and winter season of the 2013/14 crop in Brazil, according to the survey recently released by Celeres. If this data is confirmed, the area will be 7.3% higher than the estimated number by the consultant for the 2011/12 cycle (37.6 million hectares).

Projections indicate a total GMO area of 18.2 million acres in the Midwest, 13.7 million in the South and 3.8 million in the Southeast, the three major grain and fiber-producing regions of the country.

Soybeans continue to pull the advancement of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the Brazilian countryside. Sowing will begin in mid-September and Celeres estimates that transgenic varieties of oilseed will cover nearly 27 million hectares, 8.9% more than last season and 92.4% of the total grain acreage estimated for 2013/14. In this total area the forecast is to harvest 85.2 million tons.

In the survey, Celeres also estimates that the highest rate different soybean GMOs adoption for 2013/14 crop will be in the Southern region of Brazil (herbicide tolerant and insecticide resistant at the same time). In this region, the percentage will reach 94.1%, caused by the Rio Grande do Sulparticipation (99.1%). In the Southeast, the average rate tends to reach 93.7%, especially Sao Paulo (95.2%), while the Midwest will reach 93.3%, led by the Federal District (99.7%).

The national GMO corn planting should occupy, according to the consultant, 12.9 million hectares in 2013/14 summing up summer and winter crops, an increase of 3.7%. In the summer, will be 5.2 million hectares and in the winter, 7.7 million. Among the major cereal producing regions, the Southeast leads the membership fee in the summer for modified hybrids, with 91.9%. The South is more representative in the winter, with 95%. Celeres says the total harvest of corn in 2013/14 will be 85.1 million tons, between conventional and transgenic varieties.

On the other hand, the numbers are more modest for cotton harvest. Celeres states that the total area cultivated with genetically modified product will be approximately 470 thousand hectares. In absolute terms, there will be an increase of 4.8%, but relatively, membership is expected to decline from 49.4% in 2012/13 to 47% in 2013/14. In soybean and corn, membership has increased progressively.

Considering the three main producing regions of the country, the Southeast also leads the membership fee to modified cotton, with 58.8% of participation. Celeres remembers that there is a GMO bean developed by Embrapa released for cultivation in the country, but there are not seeds available to the producer.