Analysts at Brazilian consultancy AgRural shaved 1.8 million tonnes off their estimate for Brazil's 2013-14 soyabean crop on Monday, saying drought in much of the country in recent weeks had reduced yields. AgRural expects a crop of 87 million tonnes, down from 88.8 million tonnes previously, and says average yield would be 49.1 60-kilogram bags per hectare rather than 50.1 bags per hectare. The drought had not hurt top producing state Mato Grosso, however, where the harvest is now 37 percent complete, according to AgRural's weekly report.
With rains returning to much of the country over the weekend after six weeks of dryness, AgRural said the forecast could be raised again. "With the return of rain and the drop in temperatures we've seen at the end of the first half of the month, an increase in productivity in some areas cannot be ruled out due to the high resilience of soyabeans," the report said. Another Brazil-based consulting firm, Agroconsult, said on Friday it expected 2.4 million tonnes of drought-related losses, lowering its forecast to 90.8 million tonnes.
