Brazil to reach the largest soybean production in the world

Brazilian soybean production can reach levels even higher than current projections, which already suggests the production of approximately 90 million tonnes during the 2013/14 harvest, said Antonio Andrade, Minister of Agriculture.

"The performance of soybeans for this harvest should be even better than the current forecasts, reaching 95 million. This result is due to the increased productivity and it will consolidate Brazil as the largest grain producer in the world, overcoming the US," said Andrade.

It is expected that Brazil records a total grain production of 196.7 million tonnes, an increase of 5.2% compared to the previous harvest of 186.9 million tons.

In the survey, conducted by technicians from the National Supply Company (Conab), the highlight was soybeans, which grew 10.8%, representing an estimated production of 90.3 million tonnes for the current harvest. Rice showed an increase of 5.1%, reaching 12.4 million tons. The first bean harvest - which is already being harvested in Parana also stands out, with a high of 35.6% in production, from 964,600 tonnes to 1.3 million tonnes.

First harvest corn, on the other hand, Brazil’s 2nd largest crop produced, showed a decrease of 5.9%. The decrease is due to the reduction of the grain planting considering the price for soybean, according to the Management Assessment Crops of Conab.

The soybean had the largest acreage increase, 6.6%, from 27.7 to 29.6 million hectares. Other cultures also showed an area increase, such as rice, beans and cotton. On the other hand, first harvest corn area decreased 4.7%, from 6.8 to 6.5 million hectares.

"Our production increases every year. This is because Brazil has had the development of great technologies in the field, and we work daily with the producers who go to great lengths to put our production as one of the largest in the world," concludes Andrade.