Brazilian soybean harvest begins at muted pace, crop conditions good: AgRural

New Delhi — Brazilian soybean harvest for 2020-21 marketing year (February 2021-January 2022) began at a muted pace in some parts of the country, agricultural consultancy AgRural said Jan. 11, although the overall crop conditions look good.

The Brazilian soybean crop has benefited from rains and mild temperatures in December and early January, AgRural said.

Only Rio Grande do Sul and some parts in Bahia and Piauí lack moisture, which could affect the crop development, the consultancy said. However, the deficit is not significant to impact the productivity.

HARVEST DELAY

Soybean harvest was limited to some parts in Mato Grosso, Goiás and Bahia, with no significant volume to report as of Jan. 7, AgRural said.

Brazilian soybean harvest is expected to pick up pace in late-January, market sources said.

Harvest delay in Brazil has been one of the primary factors in the US soybeans futures price rise in recent weeks.

March soybeans futures have been trading at six-and-half year high at $13.7188/bu at 11:59 am CT Jan. 11.

Soybean prices are slated to continue their rise in 2021 on tight supply, coupled with steady demand and delayed harvest, analysts said.

Echoing the sentiment, the US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service said the Brazilian prices are likely to remain high in coming weeks on harvest delay.

Soybean harvest will not pick up in earnest until late-January, so domestic soybean scarcity will persist for at least another month and a half, FAS said Jan. 6.

According to AgRural, notwithstanding the harvest delay, Brazil is expected to produce an all-time high of 131.7 million mt of soybeans in 2020-21.