The Brazilian government on Thursday slashed its projection for corn production from the 2017/18 crop citing adverse weather conditions in the south and an expected reduction of planted area for the second corn crop. Conab, the country's food supply and agricultural statistics body, said corn production should reach 88 million tonnes compared to 92.34 million tonnes estimated in January and a record crop of 97.8 million tonnes last season.
"There is currently a trend among producers to reduce the planted area of second corn crop," Conab said in the report. The agency said excessive rains in the southern Paran? state, for example, are leading to a slower soyabean harvest, which will result in a tighter window for sowing corn before winter.
Most of the corn is produced in Brazil after the main soyabean crop in the summer. Usually producers speed up soya production, planting earlier, to allow for an optimal window to plant corn after they harvest soya. But soya planting and harvesting was delayed in most states due to adverse climate conditions, increasing the risk for the second corn crop which will have higher exposure to colder, drier weather.
Conab projected second-corn crop area at 11.43 million hectares, versus 12.1 million hectares last year. The agency raised its soya output projection to 111.55 million tonnes versus 110.4 million tonnes seen in January and the record output last year of 114.1 million tonnes. Analysts polled by Reuters on Wednesday saw soya output at 112.6 million tonnes on average.
In its first forecast for 2018 wheat production, Conab said it expects an output of 4.65 million tonnes compared to 4.26 million tonnes last year. The agency raised its view for Brazil's 2017/18 cotton crop to 1.78 million tonnes of lint versus 1.7 million tonnes forecast in January and 1.52 million tonnes last season.