Soybean area in Brazil expected to grow 24.4% in ten years, says ministry

The area planted with soybeans in Brazil, the largest global producer and exporter of the oilseed, is expected to increase 24.4% over the next decade, to 51.5 million hectares, especially in states in the center and northeast of Brazil, according to a study released by the Ministry of Agriculture.

In absolute terms, the growth would be around 10 million hectares compared to the 41.4 million hectares of the 2021/22 season, the base year of the work Projections of Agribusiness, carried out by specialists from the ministry, Embrapa and the University of Brasília (UnB).

″It is the crop that should expand the area the most, followed by corn, with 3 million hectares, and sugar cane, 962 thousand hectares″, stated the study.

With this area growth, soy production in 2031/32 is projected at 179.3 million tons, an increase of 42.8% in relation to 2021/22 production, whose comparative basis is affected by a drought that reduced drastically reduced production in southern Brazil.

″It is estimated that the area expansion should occur in lands with great productive potential, such as the cerrado areas located in Matopiba (Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia)″, noted the work.

The area planted with grains in this region should expand by 16.4%, to 10.3 million hectares.

The work points out challenges for advances in productivity, noting that the agricultural yield per hectare of soy grew 33% in the last 10 years, while the area advanced 49.5%.

″Soybean productivity is considered a major challenge in the coming years…″, says the report.

Exports, on the other hand, would rise from 77.2 million tons in 21/22 (the year with the lowest supply due to the crop failure) to around 115 million tons of soybeans in ten years.

CORN

The corn planted area should have an annual increase of 1.2% between 2021/22 and 2031/32, increasing from 21.5 million hectares to 24.6 million.

Second crop corn, which accounts for most of the cereal produced in Brazil, should see a strong expansion in area, from 16.4 million to 21.7 million hectares.

″There will be no need for new areas to expand this activity, as soybean areas free up most of the areas required by corn,″ said the study.

Thus, cereal production should increase from 113.3 million tons in 21/22 to almost 150 million tons in 2031/32.

Exports should increase from 37 million tons in 2021/22 to 46.3 million tons in 2031/32.

Brazil is the second global exporter of corn, and is also one of the largest producers.

The total production of grains and oilseeds in Brazil is expected to increase by 36.8% over the next ten years, reaching a total of 370.5 million tons in the 2031/2032 harvest, also counting on greater volumes of cotton.