Brazilian Farmers are Slow Sellers of Their 2022/23 Corn Production

Farmers in Mato Grosso have been slow sellers of their anticipated 2022/23 corn production due to questions about the overall crop and lower prices compared to last year. According to the Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea), farmers in the state have sold 25% of their anticipated 2022/23 safrinha corn production. This represents an advance of 2% compared to the prior month.

One reason for their cautious approach are concerns about delayed planting of the safrinha corn. Imea reported that farmers in the state had planted 50% of their safrinha corn as of late last week compared to 68.4% last year and 63.3% average. This represents an advance of 16.1% for the week.

Imea indicated that 80% of the safrinha corn needs be planted by the end of February if their 2022/23 statewide corn yield projection of 104.2 sacks per hectare (99.4 bu/ac) is to be achieved. Technicians at Imea are now estimating that 69% of the safrinha corn will be planted by the end of February. The later the corn is planted, the greater the risk of the crop running out of moisture before it has a chance to mature.

Farmers are also hoping for improved prices before they sell more of their corn. The average price for the 2022/23 corn sold in January was R$ 60.89 per sack (approximately $5.30 per bushel). The average price for the 2021/22 corn sold in January was R$ 63.21 per sack (approximately $5.50 per bushel).

Sales of the 2021/22 corn reached 95% in January, which was up 3% compared to December.

The state of Mato Grosso is Brazil’s largest safrinha corn producing state responsible for approximately 46% of the total 2022/23 acreage. The safrinha corn crop represents approximately three-quarters of Brazil’s total corn production.

Tags: crop, safrinha corn, Imea, corn, Brazil, prices, Production