Brazil’s soybean belt is critically short of rainfall, in the view of consultancy Oil World, which sees a harvest of 89 million tonnes this season, said AgriMoney. That would be an increase from last year’s 86.7 million tonnes but smaller than forecasts that run as high as 94 million tonnes for the world’s No 2 grower. USDA’s Oct 10 forecast was 94 million tonnes. The past three weeks were the ideal time for planting but soil moisture was inadequate in Mato Grosso, the top state for soybeans. “Overall, the situation will remain critical in most of Brazil this week and the arrears in soybean plantings will be severe as of October 27,” said Oil World, according to AgriMoney.
Oil World also said low soybean prices could reduce plantings in Argentina, No 3 to the United States and Brazil as a producer. AgroSouth News says soybean prices reached their lowest level since 2002 according to the Rosario Board of Trade. Rosario is Argentina’s major agricultural port.