The marketing of corn in the 2017/18 crop in Mato Grosso reached 98.4% of the total in February, up 3,23% from January, according to the Institute of Mato Grosso do Agropecuária (Imea). The number slightly exceeds the average of the last five years, of 97.2%. “A large part of the business was destined to the demand of the domestic market,” the institute said, adding that the average selling price was R $ 22.84 per ton so far. In the north of the state, all production of safrinha has already been negotiated. Regarding cereals for the 2018/19 crop, 46.5% have already been sold, 5.88% higher than last month. Trading is ahead of last year’s average of 34.4%, “reflecting the appreciation of corn in the foreign market and high dollar in the previous months,” according to the Imea. “Despite the decline of the dollar and the export premium over what was seen last month, agents have said they buy from companies positioning themselves in the market,” the institute said. As a result, the average sale price so far is R $ 20.76 / bag. Marketing is more advanced in the north-central, with 51.9% of production sold. Imea also highlighted the participation of Mato Grosso in corn shipments in January, considered significant. Of the 4.22 million tons of grain shipped in the country, 57% or 2.41 million tons, were from the state. In the accumulated 2017/18 harvest, 15.52 million tons of corn harvested in Mato Grosso have already been shipped abroad. “From now on, with the introduction of the soyabean crop, the trend is for deceleration of shipments of corn, however, volumes in the coming months should continue to be a signal for prices in this off-season,” said the entity.
Source: Globo Rural