Rains have delayed soybean harvesting in Mato Grosso, Brazil’s top grain-producing state, for the second week in a row, reducing deliveries to traders who had contracted for larger volumes.
Soy collection in Mato Grosso reached 16.3% of total planted area by Friday, farmers’ statistics body Imea said, well below expectations considering early planting in September and a good harvesting rate in the first days of the year.
“We could have made it to 24.7% of the area by now, but the rains did not allow farmers to accelerate their work,” Angelo Ozelame, chief analyst at Imea, said.
Last week, the harvest had reached 11.5% of the area, while it could have advanced to 15%, said Imea, which calculates the potential harvest progress based on the sowing calendar and seed types used by farmers.
Mato Grosso is seen producing 30 million tonnes of soybeans in the 2016/17 season, contributing to a record Brazilian output of 103.8 million tonnes.
Large soybean traders that booked cargoes for delivery in January, traditionally the first month of the harvest, are facing temporary logistical hurdles.
“Companies are a bit jumbled because they bought beans for January delivery. Those beans are coming in at the last minute,” said a regional executive at a trading house in Primavera do Leste, southern Mato Grosso, who asked not to be named.
He said delays may force companies to pay fees if delivery deals are not fulfilled at ports. If the delays are excessively long, farmers may also be penalized.
BEAN QUALITY
“A cold front over the coast channels humidity from the Amazon region to Brazil’s center-west, causing rains in Mato Grosso and other states,” said local forecaster Somar Meteorologia.
However, there are no reports of damage to the crop yet.
“Weather was a problem this week, but not to the point of causing losses. Many farmers managed to proceed with harvesting in brief windows of dry weather,” Fabio Meneghin, an analyst touring the region for analysts Agroconsult, said.
In Paraná state, Brazil’s second-largest soybean producer, harvest has just started, according to the local government. (Editing by Marcelo Teixeira and James Dalgleish)