Brazil: The Soybean Powerhouse

Brazil just keeps breaking records. For 2020/21 the country’s soybean production is forecast at a record 4.98 billion bushels, which is up 8.6% from last season’s record crop.

Brazilian soybeans
Brazilian soybeans
(Top Producer, CONAB, USDA, University of Illinois)

Brazil just keeps breaking records. For 2020/21 the country’s soybean production is forecast at a record 4.98 billion bushels, which is up 8.6% from last season’s record crop.

Strong Chinese demand and a weak Brazilian real coupled with a rising U.S. dollar created a favorable 2021 price outlook for Brazilian farmers. In fact, data from Rabobank’s RaboResearch team shows forward pricing contracts for March 2021 delivery in Mato Grosso were 30% higher than last year. Here’s a look at how the U.S. stacks up with its No. 1 competitor in soybean production.

Future expansion of Brazilian soybean acres will likely occur in the Midwest, North and Northeast of Brazil, according to Joana Colussi and Gary Schnitkey at the University of Illinois.

Read more from farmdoc daily: New Soybean Record: Historical Growing of Production in Brazil

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