Soybean growers in Brazil, driven by higher domestic prices, will expand plantings for the tenth year in a row and reap a record 100 million tonnes of the oilseed, said USDA. Brazil is second to the United States as a soybean grower but the world leader in soybean exports. “Despite lower global soybean prices, the weak Brazilian Real results in higher domestic prices and is encouraging farmers to increase area,” said the monthly World Agricultural Production report. The Real has dropped in value against the strengthening U.S. dollar by 35 percent since the start of this year.
While Brazil is projected to increase its exports by 11 percent during the 2015/16 marketing year, U.S. soybean exports would drop by 9 percent, says USDA. The record crop in Brazil, up 4 percent from the previous season, would be a primary driver for a record soybean harvest worldwide of 320.5 million tonnes.
The season-average soybean price for U.S. farmers is forecast for $9.15 a bushel, the lowest in nine years. The U.S. crop is the second-largest ever and only 47 million bushels smaller than the record 3.927 billion bushels harvested in 2014. USDA lowered its forecasts of this year’s corn and soybean crops marginally in its monthly Crop Production report on Friday. The farm-gate price of corn, $3.80 a bushel, would be the second-lowest in six years.