Dec 26, 2014
Cotton Acreage to decline 12% in Mato Grosso
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Mato Grosso is the largest cotton producing state in Brazil and farmers in Mato Grosso are expected to reduce their 2014/15 cotton acreage by 12%. The Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea) is estimating that farmers in the state will plant 569,500 hectares of cotton compared to 645,900 hectares in 2013/14. The reason for the reduced acreage is the low prices being offered for cotton.
Imea is estimating that 27% of the cotton in Mato Grosso (157,000 hectares) will be full-season cotton planted during the month of December and that 73% of the cotton (411,000 hectares) will be safrinha cotton planted after the soybeans are harvested in January. The ideal planting window for safrinha cotton in the state usually closes by the end of January.
Safrinha cotton production is a relatively new practice in Brazil. Traditionally, the vast majority of the cotton in Brazil was planted as full-season cotton, but the development of extra-early maturing soybeans and early maturing cotton now allows farmers to plant two crops during the growing season.
The two main cotton producing regions of the state are southeastern Mato Grosso and western Mato Grosso.