SAO PAULO: Brazilian farmers will reap an estimated 317.5 million metric tons of grains this season, as massive soybean and corn outputs bolster one of the world’s biggest suppliers of agricultural commodities.

Conab, the government’s food supply and statistics agency, on Thursday raised its second-corn production estimate to 98 million metric tons from 96.3 million in June, improving prospects for total corn and grain production in Brazil.

Second corn, which represents around 75% of national production in a given year, is planted after soybeans are harvested in the same areas. Brazilian soybean production will be a record 154.5 million metric tons, according to Conab’s revised data, thanks to a 16% rise in national yields and a 6% area expansion.

That elevated total soy production by a whopping 23% compared with 2022, the data showed. Overall corn production, in turn, will reach almost 128 million tonnes, up nearly 13%, as farmers finish harvesting a larger-than-ever second-corn crop, Conab said. In 2023, some of Brazil’s second-corn was planted later, outside the ideal climate window, because of delays in soy production.

That worried analysts and farmers, but in the end, second-corn production, which is mainly exported in the second half of the year, faced no major issues. In its latest report, Conab said Brazil’s total corn yields rose by an overall 10%.