Brazil's corn output seen at 93.2 million tonnes; soyabean 110.8 million tonnes

Brazilian farmers should produce a record 2016-17 corn crop of 93.2 million tonnes this year, a Reuters poll indicated on Thursday, above the 89.6 million tonnes expected in a previous survey. Corn output will be boosted by a record second corn crop (winter crop) seen by market analysts surveyed by Reuters at 63 million tonnes. Soya production in 2016-17 is expected to reach 110.8 million tonnes compared to 106.8 million tonnes in a previous poll.
With the soya harvest in its final stages, grains market players turn their eyes to corn, particularly the second crop of the cereal, whose planting is basically finished and development hinges on the climate conditions in the coming weeks. Brazil's second corn crop, or winter crop, currently accounts for around 70 percent of the country's total production of the cereal, since most farmers tend to plant soya in the main summer crop and leave corn for the riskier second crop.
Last year, initial indications of a large second corn crop did not stand after a prolonged drought, which reduced output to only 40 million tonnes. "Considering the favourable climate conditions so far and the smaller costs for fertilizers, the probability of large agricultural yields for the second crop has increased," independent consultancy Coleres said in a recent report.