CONAB trims Brazil soybean, corn production estimates

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CONAB trims Brazil soybean, corn production estimates

Brazil’s equivalent of the USDA has trimmed its record large corn and soybean production estimates because of dry conditions in southern growing areas.

CONAB sees soybeans at 134.451 million tons, down 502,000 on the month, and has the first corn crop at 24.187 million tons, 2.302 million less than in November.

CONAB left its estimate for Brazil’s second corn crop unchanged at 76.763 million tons. That’s planted after soybeans are harvested and is the largest of their three crops and the source of most of their exports.

Competition with the U.S. has had an impact on Brazil’s corn exports, with CONAB pegging marketing year to date corn sales at 27.7 million tons, 20% slower than last year, while the running total for soybean exports is 82.9 million tons, just shy of the expected total of 83.6 million tons for the marketing year, which runs through January. CONAB expects Brazil’s soybean exports to hit 85 million tons next marketing year.

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