Economy

Brazil likely to see record harvest this year

Production should add up to 5.7 million tons more than 2021

Vitor Abdala

Published on 07/04/2022 - 10:40

Rio de Janeiro

Colheita de feijão, grãos de feijão — © Wenderson Araujo/Trilux

Brazil’s official statistics agency IBGE reduced its estimate for the production of cereals, legumes, and oilseeds in the country this year. According to the March estimate, the harvest should close out 2022 at 258.9 million tons, down one percent (2.7 million tons less) from February’s prediction.

Despite the month-on-month shrinkage, Brazil’s crops should reach a new record this year, with production 2.3 percent (5.7 million tons) up from last year.

Estimates

The slash in the forecast from February to March was driven by lower production estimates for soybeans (-5.6%), first-crop corn (-3.8%), grapes (-9.5%), and tomatoes (-1.9%).

Nonetheless, the period saw improvements in the estimates for the second-crop corn (4.9%), cotton (3.7%), beans (3%), oat (3.3%), sorghum (0.5%), and wheat (9.6%).

The area to be harvested in 2022 should encompass 71.8 million hectares, as per the data from March, 0.8 percent higher than forecast in February and up 4.7 percent from last year.