Brazil agricultural output up 8.1% in 2014

Brazil's agricultural output has raised $66.7 billion in 2014, up 8.1% compared with 2013, according to official data released Thursday (Nov. 5) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The crop productions responsible for the rise were soybean—up 22.4% compared with 2013—,  Arabica coffee (22.6%), and herbaceous cotton (17.4%).

Soybeans set the record, producing 86.8 million tons in 2014, 5 million more than in the previous year, a rise of 6.2% and an average output of 2,866 kilograms per hectare, 2.1% lower than the previous harvest. The following productions have also increased: cassava (1.8 million tons), herbaceous cotton (820,000), and wheat (523 400), among other products.

The country's arable land totaled 76.2 million, 3.8 million more than in 2013. The rise resulted from the soybean expansion, which had increased its arable land by 2.4 million hectares. According to the survey, the good results were achieved by good market prices.

Three crops reached 62.7% of the total production, soybeans took the largest share (33.6%), followed by sugarcane (16.8%), and corn (10.3%). Of the 64 crops analyzed, 25 reduced production compared with 2013, especially sugarcane due to drought in 2014. This drop caused a fall of 4% in sugarcane domestic output, reducing 31 million tons.

Last year, the national harvest of cereal, legumes and oilseeds (grains) had set a record, producing 194.6 million tons, surpassing by 3.5% the harvests obtained in 2013 (188.1 million tons). The production reached the highest value: $36.3 billion. The planted area was 57.4 million hectares (up 6.9%) and harvested area was 56.7 million hectares (up 7.5%).

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta