Jun 14, 2021
Soybean Planting Complete in State of Roraima in Northern Brazil
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Brazil's northernmost state of Roraima lies north of the Amazon River and the Equator, so it is in the Northern Hemisphere. The state is a small soybean producing state, but since it is in the Northern Hemisphere, the soybean growing season in the state is similar to that of the United States. The soybeans in Roraima are planted in April/May and harvested in September/October.
Farmers in Roraima tried to start planting their 2021 soybeans early, but the weather in Roraima during March and April was excessively wet with rainfall amounts near 800 mm (32 inches) during those two months compared to the average of 250 mm (10 inches). The rainfall during the months of May and June have also been above average as well, so the soybean planting was not completed until just recently.
According to the Secretary of Agriculture for the State of Roraima, farmers in the state increased their soybean acreage 40% in 2021 from 50,000 hectares (123,500 acres) to 70,000 hectares (172,900 acres). He is expecting record soybean yields in 2021 of 56 sacks per hectare (50 bu/ac) and a total production of 270,000 tons.
For the 2022 growing season, the Secretary is expecting farmers to increase their soybean acreage by another 60%.
The soybean producing area of Roraima has typical cerrado vegetation similar to the cerrado of central Brazil. In its native state, the cerrado soil is very infertile, but with proper corrective measures, it can be as productive as other soybean producing regions of Brazil. Since the state does not have any soybean processing industry, all the soybeans are exported through ports on the Amazon River or through neighboring Venezuela.