A cold front will bring much needed rain to Brazil's No 2 and 3 soyabean producing states of Parana and Rio Grande do Sul on Tuesday and Wednesday, local meteorologist Somar forecast Monday. The two main southern producing states have been the worst hit by dry weather this growing season. Forcasters have begun to lower their expectations of the new crop as some losses are now seen as irreversible.
Parts of Rio Grande do Sul were still getting well below-average rainfall for January after rains nearly abandoned the state in late November and December. Earlier Monday, AgRural said it was lowering its estimate of Brazil's crop to 70.2 million tonnes from its previous outlook of 73.1 million tonnes due to falling yields. In the previous season, Brazil harvested a record 75.3 million tonnes of soyabeans.
Seasonal isolated showers are expected to continue with frequency over Brazil's center-west growing states, Somar said in its daily soya weather bulletin, with flash rains falling on soya fields in the No 1 and No 4 soya states, Mato Grosso and Goias. In its extended 10-day forecast, Somar said skies would clear over the southern states and rains would shift toward the north as the rainy season in south-central Brazil peaks in the coming weeks.