South American crop consultant Dr. Michael Cordonnier says even though soybean harvest in Mato Grosso, Brazil, is winding down, farmers have sold less of their 2012-13 soybean crop than what had been anticipated. According to the Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea), farmers in the state have sold 76% of their anticipated 2012-13 soybean production, which is significantly less than what had been sold last year at this time.
“One of the principal reasons for the slow sales are problems the grain companies are having storing and transporting the record large crop. They have been slow in shipping out the grain due to a lack of trucks and long waiting times to unload at rail terminals and the ports of Paranagua and Santos. The grain companies are reluctant to purchase any more grain until they are more certain about their storage situation,” says Dr. Cordonnier. “The falling soybean prices and high transportation costs have also convinced farmers to take a wait and see attitude toward future sales.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Cordonnier says farmers in Mato Grosso finished planting their safrinha corn mid-March, but they have only 20% of the anticipated safrinha corn production forward sold -- which is an increase of only 2.5% compared to a month earlier. “Lower prices have turned farmers cautious and the grain companies are even more uncertain about their corn storage situation than they are about soybeans,” he says.
