Brazilian soyabean farmers suffer losses due to drought

A Brazilian growing season that only last month seemed likely to yield a spectacularly large soyabean crop has turned to drought, portending losses for farmers and a downward revision of the country's grain production forecasts.
Areas in Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul, two of the five largest Brazilian producing states, have not seen a drop of rain for 20 days, Marco Antonio dos Santos, partner at weather forecasting firm Rural Clima, said in a statement. "The drought associated with very high temperatures has impacted yield potential in many soya fields," Santos said.
The government currently estimates that Brazilian farmers are likely to produce around 120 million tonnes of soya this year, setting a new record. One consultancy, citing a exceptionally strong start to the season, said in November that Brazil could collect as many as 129 million tonnes.
But the outlook will change if dry weather persists. Paraná-based agricultural agency Deral said crop forecasts may be revised lower as early as this week, because of the effects of the drought in local soya fields, particularly in the west of the state. Intense heat and lower-than-expected rains through Christmas could aggravate the situation in Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul, analysts said. Still, there is some rain forecast before the end of the month that should limit losses, they said.
"It is difficult to know the size of the losses; it is very hot. The drought is having an effect on the early soya," said AgRural analyst Fernando Muraro. Paraná, the second-largest soyabean producer, and Mato Grosso do Sul, the fifth, could suffer losses of up to 20 percent if rains do not return in sufficient volume, said Safras & Mercado analyst Luiz Fernando Roque. Harvesting of the 2018-19 soyabean crop has started in isolated areas of top producer Mato Grosso, said consultancy AgRural and state grain grower association Aprosoja-MT. Though lack of rains has also affected farms in southern Mato Grosso, the issue was less severe than in Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul, analysts said.