Reuters – A drought is compromising corn fields in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state, which is now expected to produce 4.51 million tonnes of the cereal, according to a forecast by StoneX on Dec. 15.
The revised output figure is less than a previously forecast 5.38 million tonnes of corn production for the state in the 2022-23 cycle.
Despite frequently ranking among the main producers of summer corn and soybeans, it is not uncommon for Rio Grande do Sul to suffer from climatic adversities, StoneX said.
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The 2021-22 season, for example, was marked by considerably drier-than-normal weather at a crucial time for crop development.
In that season, StoneX had estimated summer corn output at 5.76 million tonnes in Brazil’s southernmost state. However, at the end of that cycle, dryness caused production to fall to an estimated 2.56 million tonnes.
StoneX said it is early to predict whether current dry weather will also affect the state’s soybean crop, noting this will become clearer in January and February.
For now, Rio Grande do Sul’s soybean crop is estimated at more than 22 million tonnes in the present cycle, representing a hefty rise from the roughly 11 million tonnes of the prior season, when lack of rain spoiled almost half of the crop, StoneX data show.
Rio Grande do Sul is among Brazil’s biggest corn and soybean producers. Brazilian farmers plant up to three corn crops in some regions, with first and second corn, also referred to as summer and winter corn, representing the bulk of production.
