Brazilian farmers are expected to harvest more than 100 million tonnes of corn in the 2016/17 crop cycle because of favourable weather and higher productivity, according to two separate research notes on Monday. With a strong presence in agribusiness lending, Banco Pine rose its forecast for this year's corn crop by almost 10 million tonnes to 102.2 million tonnes.
If confirmed, this would represent a 55 percent rise from the prior season, when a severe drought cut production. "We realized over the past few years that rains until the second half of April are important for higher corn productivity," Lucas Brunetti, Banco Pine commodities analyst, wrote in a report. He said rains in May "are a seal of guarantee" for productivity in the Center-West, Brazil's agricultural heartland. In general terms, Brazil's winter corn crop was bolstered by favourable weather in all producing regions, according to Caleres, a consultancy. "After the smooth progress of the soybean harvest, the winter corn was planted in the ideal period," Caleres said in its own research note.