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Brazil soybean to grow to a record 89mn tonnes
August 2, 2013, 9:59 am

[AP]

Brazil had a record soybean harvest ending in May [AP]

Brazil’s food supply department says it expects the 2013-14 soybean crop to grow by nine per cent to a record 89.1 million tonnes.

The previous soybean crop in Brazil totalled 81.46 million tonnes.

AgRural said in its first report that planted area will grow six per cent to 29.5 million hectares next season.

Brazil had a record soybean harvest ending in May.

The biggest expansion in absolute terms will occur in Mato Grosso, Brazil’s largest soybean producing state located in the centre-west, with an additional 592,000 hectares.

AgRural said the strengthening of the US dollar against the Brazilian Real so far this year has offset the decline in soybean prices and kept planting of the crop economically attractive to producers.

Following a meeting between Chinese and Brazilian agriculture ministers in Beijing, China’s agriculture ministry approved imports of three genetically modified varieties of soybean in June.

“This approval is even more important in view of the spread of the Helicoverpa armigera caterpillar in several Brazilian states,” the ministry said in a statement.

According to a Reuters report, Brazil may surpass the US as the top soybean producer this season.

Source: Agencies