The size of the large soybean crop being harvest was increased, with officials upgrading their forecast to a record 90.3m tonnes, and the farm minister saying that a far higher result could "easily" be achieved. Conab, the official crop bureau, raised by 300,000 tonnes to 90.3m tonnes its forecast for Brazil's newly-started 2013-14 soybean harvest. Production at that level would see Brazil overtake the US as the biggest producer.
Sensitive time
And Antonio Andrade, the Brazilian agriculture minister, said that the South American country - which harvested 81.5m tonnes of soybeans last year according to Conab "The harvest could "easily" top 95m tonnes, he told reporters.
Brazil's harvest is increasingly under the microscope, given its huge potential, and the prospect – logistics allowing – for the country to dominate export markets for now, prompting cancellations even of orders of US supplies already made. The market now appears to be looking forward to the movement of new-crop South American, particularly Brazilian, supplies beginning this month and is also concerned with the possibility of cancellations of soybeans on the US books to China.
Corn vs soybeans
Conab attributed its upgrade to a slightly higher estimate for sowings, seen at 29.6m hectares, up 100,000 hectares on the previous estimate, and by 1.8m hectares year on year. Farmers have been "encouraged by the fact that the crop in recent seasons has presented remunerative prices at the time of marketing", switching to the oilseed from the likes of corn.