Inor Ag. Assmann
Theuninterruptedstrides intheproductionof theoilseed
inBrazil stabilizedinthe2015/16growingseasondueto
difficultiesstemmingfromadverseweatherconditions
The rising trend of soybean in Brazil, with
frequent increases in planted area and crop
volume, showed no advance in the vol-
ume obtained in the 2015/16 growing sea-
son. Although the planted area had gone up
by 3.6%, the size of the crop showed no big
changes compared to the previous year. It
was even slightly lower (0.8%), remaining at
95.4 million tons. Productivity was adversely
affected by badweather conditions, andwas
down 4.3%, particularly because of the per-
formance of the main soy producing states,
Mato Grosso and Paraná, and with an even
stronger incidence in theMatopiba producing
region(Maranhão,Tocantins,PiauíandBahia).
The final survey of the season, conduct-
ed by the National Food Supply Agency
(Conab),inSeptember2016,showsanevolu-
tion in the area planted to soybean in almost
all the states in the Country, especially in the
Southeast, third largest producer, where it
reached 10%. The main producing region,
the Center-West, also progressed (2.1%),
and the same holds true for the second big-
gest region, the South, with 4.3%. The rea-
sons cited by the organ refer to “a slight de-
lay in the harvest of the North-American
crop, erratic climate conditions in South
Americaanda rise in thedomesticexchange
rate, which recovered prices in late 2015”.
The expansions in planted area, for the
most part, even outstripped initial estimates,
but the production volumes, in general, did
not keeppacewith thebigger areas. The lead-
ing region remained within estimated num-
bers in terms of area increases, but the num-
bersoftheamountsproducedwereveryclose
to the previous year (- 0.5%), due to the lead-
ing producer’s 7.1-percent reduction in plant-
edarea,MatoGrosso.MatoGrossodoSul,fifth
biggest national producer, harvest a crop in
line with the previous year, in spite of smaller
productivity levels, whilst Goiás, in the same
region and fourth largest producer, suffered
nochangesinproductionvolumes.
LocatednearGoiásandSouthMatoGros-
so, the states in the Southeast (Minas Gerais,
sixth biggest producer; and São Paulo,
eighth) progressed both in area and volume,
with production up 29% at regional level.
The South, in turn, celebrated a 3.4-percent
rise in production, thanks to the good per-
formance of the third biggest national pro-
ducer, the State of Rio Grande do Sul (8.9%),
and Santa Catarina, ninth biggest producer.
However, the vice-leader of the crop in the
Country, the State of Paraná, was adversely
affected by excessive precipitation, resulting
into a 6.2-percent drop in performance and
2.1-percent in the volume harvested.
Still relying on the numbers released by
Conab officials, the climate problem affect-
edmore severely the states on the upper por-
tion of themap (North and Northeast), which
is the most recent soybean growing area in
the Country, known as Matopiba, where the
El Niño phenomenon resulted into drought
conditions that reduced the productivity
rates by nearly 30% (in Bahia, main region;
and in Tocantins, second biggest producer),
butinthestateofPiauíthereductionreached
60%. By and large, the crop size in theNorth-
east (Bahia, Maranhão and Piauí) receded
36.8% in the 2015/16 growing season, by vir-
tueoftheadverseweatherconditions.
Astopon
the way
Volume harvested in 2016 in the Country
remained at 95.4million tons
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