Sales of corn from the 2018/19 Brazilian crop to last week exceeded the total committed a year ago for the previous crop, while soyabean sales lost pace and are now behind the same time observed in 2017/18. According to the consultancy, 32% of the production of first-crop corn had been traded until the first days of the month, versus 27% in the annual comparison and 11% more than in the previous month. In a bulletin, Datagro said that such marketing is also slightly above the average 30% of the last five crops and reflects the “most aggressive stance” of producers. As for the second harvest, the so-called “harvesting season”, which will be harvested from May, 39% of the estimated production had already been compromised, compared to 32% a month earlier, 26% a year ago and 36% on average for the period. Brazil’s corn production is expected to jump 23% in comparison with the last cycle, affected by the drought. The advance in the commercialization of cereal can also indicate the need to guarantee space in the warehouses, since the harvested soyabean still occupy the silos amidst slower sales recently. Last week, experts and traders told Reuters that corn storage is at risk from the sale of almost halted soyabeans. According to Datagro, 52% of the oilseed crop was traded by producers until Friday, down from 54% in the annual comparison. So far, 83% of the area planted with soyabeans in the current cycle was harvested, versus 77.9% in the previous week and 80.8% in the average for the period.
Source: Reuters