Brazil Rio Grande do Sul 2020-21 corn planting complete in 70% of area

New Delhi — Corn planting in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul was complete in 70% of the projected area, unchanged year on year but above the four-year average of 65%, the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development said Oct. 22.

Rio Grande do Sul is the second-largest producer of the first corn crop in Brazil and is expected to produce 5.7 million mt in 2020-21, up 46.2% year on year, according to Brazil's national agricultural agency, Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento (Conab).

Last year corn crops in the state suffered severe losses due to drought.

The first corn crop planting in Brazil usually takes place during September-December and harvesting occurs in February-May. The second crop is planted in February-March and harvested in June-July.

The first corn crop, which is mostly grown in the southern states, including Rio Grande do Sul, is crucial for the livestock feed manufacturers in the country as they are concentrated in the southern region.

However, most of the country's corn production comes from the states in the Center-West region.

Although Brazil is the second-largest corn exporter in the world, transporting corn from the Center-West states to the south is expensive and feed manufacturers depend on the first corn crop and imports for their feed inputs.

Brazil's corn production is forecast at a record 105.167 million mt in 2020-21, up 2.6% year on year, Conab said in its latest forecast on Oct. 8.

First corn production in Brazil is pegged at 26.77 million mt in 2020-21, up 4.2% from the previous season, while second corn output is forecast at 76.76 million mt, up 2.3%, the report

said.