The early soybean harvest in Brazil is well behind its usual pace.
Allendale commodities broker Greg McBride tells the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network that Brazil has been experiencing a mixed precipitation pattern of late while the early harvest is being conducted. Double-crop planting in the country is underway as well.
?We?re shifting our focus away from Argentina, not saying that issue has completely gone away,? McBride said. ?They have gotten some good rains that have helped bring them around. Now, we?re focusing more in on Brazil?s weather. The amount of rain Brazil continues to get is slowing down that bean harvest, which also then slows down the second crop planting.?
?That?s the biggest issue (Brazil) is dealing with right now,? he continued. ?They are way behind on their harvest. Typically, at this time they are about 15-to-20 percent complete. As of right now they are only about 4 or 5 percent complete. That?s way behind right now.?
McBride notes Argentina has increased chances of showers across its crop areas this week.
?We have started to see a little bit of rain come through or seen enough rain to take some of those real big concerns about damage and lost production out of the conversation,? McBride said. ?Argentina did dry out over the weekend, but there is enough rain coming that will continue to push that production idea along.?
Another South American agriculture headline of note, McBride says January soybean exports from Brazil were reported at only 49,498 metric tons, the lowest monthly total from Brazil since January 2014.
?Part of that is that (Brazil) is running low on old crop stocks to ship or sell,? he said. ?They are so far behind in their early harvest that they aren?t booking those early sales like they normally would.?
The team at Allendale can be reached by calling 800-262-7538, or you can visit allendale-inc.com. McBride’s full weekly South American weather and crop update can be heard by clicking on the audio player below.
