Jan 11, 2018
Paraguay expected to Produce Good Soybean Crop
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The 2017/18 soybean harvest is under way in Paraguay, which is the third largest soybean producer in South America after neighboring Brazil and Argentina. There are no restrictions on when farmers may start planting their soybeans in Paraguay, so the planting in Paraguay generally starts earlier than in Brazil. If the weather conditions are favorable, soybean planting may start sometime in August, which means that the soybean harvest may start by the end of December.
Farmers in Paraguay are generally pleased with their early soybean yields. The yields of the very early planted soybeans were disappointing because of hot and dry conditions during the first three weeks of December when the crop was in the critical pod filling stage.
Rains returned to Paraguay during the third week of December, which was a life-saver for the medium and later maturing soybeans that had started to fill pods by then. Rainfall has continued to this point and as a result, the medium and later maturing soybeans are expected to yield very well.
The Paraguayan Cereal and Oilseed Exporters Association (Capeco) estimates that the 2016/17 soybean production in Paraguay set a record at 10.6 million tons with an average yield of 3,147 kg/ha (45.6 bu/ac). They do not expect the 2017/18 crop to be quite as large, but they are still expecting a generally good crop in the range of 10.0 million tons.