SAO PAULO: Brazilian farmers have harvested 58% of their second corn crop in the center south, as the weather improved and growers were able to advance the work, according to a statement from agribusiness consultancy AgRural on Monday.

But while the level of harvesting represents an advance of nine percentage points over the 49% from the previous week, it remains below the 70% of the same period in 2020, the consultancy said.

Brazil’s second corn harvest is its largest, representing 70% to 75% of output in a given year. This season, a drought and frosts spoiled part of the crop, affecting supplies and export prospects.

Harvesting in the state of Paraná, one of Brazil’s biggest producers, is the most behind among key grain states. Together with Mato Grosso do Sul, these are the two regions that registered the most losses for the second crop given the poor weather, AgRural said.

In Mato Grosso, Brazil’s largest grain state, the harvest is almost complete. And although farmers faced lower yields in the last areas harvested there, crop failure in the state was less severe compared to others in the center south, AgRural said.

Second corn yields in the center south plunged to their lowest level in 10 years, AgRural said.

Brazil’s total corn production this season is forecast to be 82.2 million tonnes, some 20 million tones below the 2019/2020 cycle, according to AgRural data.