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Brazil Cuts Soybean Crop Forecast on Corn Planting

Soybean output in Brazil, the world's second-biggest grower, will fall next year as rising corn prices prompted some farmers to switch crops, the government said. Corn output may rise more than expected to a record.

Soybean growers will harvest 58.1 million metric tons, less than a November estimate of 59.4 million tons, the Agriculture Ministry said today in Brasilia. The ministry, in its first joint report with the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics, raised its corn forecast to 52.3 million tons from 51.8 million.

Some farmers favored corn over soybeans after corn prices more than doubled in the past two years because of rising demand for ethanol made from the grain. Soybean planting was also delayed because of dry weather in Brazil, said Silvio Porto, head of logistics at the ministry's Conab forecasting agency.

"Better prices for corn encouraged many soybean producers to use part of their land for corn,'' Porto told reporters in Brasilia. ``In the majority of the producing states there was a delay in planting because of a lack of rain.''

Soybean output will fall from 58.4 million tons and corn production will rise from 51.4 million this year, Conab said. Brazil's soybean and corn harvesting season ended in September.

Planting of corn for the next crop will rise 1.6 percent to 14.3 million hectares (35 million acres), and soybean planting will climb 1.3 percent to 21 million hectares, Conab said.

Brazil's corn exports will drop in 2008 to 8 million tons from a record 10.8 million tons this year because of rising output in the U.S., Porto said.

Conab also cut its forecast for cotton output next year to 1.58 million tons from a previous estimate of 1.61 million tons. Output totaled 1.52 million tons this year.

Tags · Soybean · Corn · Brazil

10.12.2007. 01:12

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