Agribusiness: Brazilian crops this year should be 7.2% larger than 2007's

Rio de Janeiro – Brazilian grain production should total 142.6 million tonnes in 2008. The result is 1.5% higher than the one forecasted in March (140.5 million) and 7.2% greater than production obtained in 2007, which was 133.1 million tonnes. The data from the Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production (LSPA) were disclosed today (8th) by the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
The expected rise in wheat production (12.4%) and in the second crop of maize is responsible for the 2.1 million additional tonnes in the IBGE estimate, which is the fourth disclosed this year.
Planted area in 2008 should total 46.8 million hectares, representing growth of 3.2% compared with last year. Soy (21.2 million hectares), maize (14.5 million hectares) and rice (2.9 million hectares) should have the largest planted areas. These products answer to 90.6% of the estimated national grain production.
According to the IBGE survey, the largest production estimate is for the Southern Region, at 61 million tonnes; the region should be followed by the Midwest, at 49.2 million; Southeast, at 16.7 million; Northeast, at 12 million; and North, at 3.8 million.
According to the Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production, between the years of 1980 and 2008, production "increased more significantly than did planted area, attesting to the fact that technological advances have led to a rise in average yield."
The IBGE also highlights the fact that, in 2003, production surpassed 100 million tonnes of grain, having totaled 123.6 million tonnes, a record that was broken in 2007 (133.1 million tonnes) and should be overcome in 2008 (142.6 million tonnes).
The National Food Supply Company (Conab) also disclosed today, in the Brazilian capital Brasilia, its estimate for the 2007/2008 crop, which is 142.03 million tonnes of grain. The Conab and the IBGE are working together to reduce the difference between crop projections.
Source