Sep 05, 2014
Safrinha Corn Harvest Completed in Mato Grosso
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Farmers in Mato Grosso should complete their 2014 corn harvest this week. The Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea) estimates that farmers will produce 17.7 million tons of corn on 3.2 million hectares. The statewide average yield is projected at 91.6 sacks per hectare (5,496 kg/ha or 84.6 bu/ac).
Of the 46.8 million tons of safrinha corn production in Brazil, an estimated 30% has been sold. Some farmers say they will not sell their corn until next year and are instead investing in silo bags and additional storage capacity. Conab is estimating that Brazil will export 20 million tons of corn compared to 26 million tons exported last year. The amount of corn carryover in Brazil is expected to be 12.8 million tons compared to a carryover of 8.6 million tons last year.
For the moment, corn exports are running behind expectations. During August, corn exports from Brazil totaled 2.458 million tons or 177,000 tons per day, while many analysts had expected Brazil to export 3 million tons during August.
Domestic corn prices in Mato Grosso continue to be below the minimum price set by the government. The second Pepro Program auction was held last week and 1.4 million tons of corn were subsidized in Mato Grosso. The average subside was R$ 2.53 per sack or approximately US$ 0.52 per bushel.