Market News & Headlines >> Soy Crop Estimate Lowered Again for Brazil State

The soybean crop in Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul is now expected to be nearly 44% smaller than was initially anticipated, while the corn crop is expected to be down nearly 55%,  as a result of severe drought, according to local agency Emater/RS-Ascar.

"Soybean cultivation continues to be impacted by the effects of the drought," Emater said.

The agency, which is essentially the state’s agricultural extension service, on Friday pegged soybean production at 11.20 million metric tons, 43.8% below its initial estimate of 19.94 million tons. Corn production is now expected to total 2.77 million tons, 54.7% less than its initial estimate of 6.11 million tons.

The Emater soybean crop estimate is also down 18.5% from the most recent official estimate released by CONAB, the supply department of Brazil’s agriculture ministry, which pegged Rio Grande do Sul’s production at 13.74 million tons. CONAB pegged the state’s corn production at 2.94 million tons.

The number of corn producers impacted by drought exceeded 98,000, an increase of nearly 5,000 from the previous survey Emater said. For soybeans there were about 88,000 producers experiencing a cut in production, it said.