Brazil's Parana reduces soybean crop forecast
Severe drought hitting the region hard
28 January 2022
1 minute read
By: Brazil's Parana, one of the largest grain-producing states in the South American country, has trimmed its forecast for the 2021/22 soybean crop again amid a severe drought, reported Reuters.
Deral, the state's forecasting department, said on Thursday this season's soybean output was now seen at 12.83 million tonnes, down 35% from 2020/21 and below a previous projection of 18.4 million tonnes, which Deral released in late December.
"This report includes updates on drought-related damages. The figures have changed dramatically from our previous report that was released ahead of the worst moments of heat and water stress seen in late 2021," Deral agronomist Carlos Hugo Godinho said in a statement.
An emergency assessment conducted after 1 January had already pointed to a crop of about 13.1 million tonnes, Deral said.
Parana once expected to harvest a record 21 million tonnes of soybean in 2021/22 as the planted area grew and the weather looked good, but that forecast has been hit by La Nina weather phenomenon which brings low rainfall and high temperatures.
Despite the lower soybean output, Parana has raised its forecast for the 2021/22 first corn crop to 2.73 million tonnes from 2.4 million tonnes, while the second corn crop is now seen at 15.2 million tonnes, up 165% year on year.
Melanie Epp
Melanie Epp is a freelance agricultural journalist from Ontario, Canada.
