Highlights
The planting of second-crop corn in Mato Grosso, Brazil’s leading corn and soybean producing state, advanced by 11.5% this past week, reaching 96.5% of the projected area. The current pace is close to that of last year’s 97.81% and is still above the average of the last five years, 92.64%.
The summer corn harvest in the far southern state of Rio Grande do Sul is 68% complete, according to Emater. The first corn sown in October were harvested with decent yields, exceeding, in many cases, the initial yield projections. The corn planted between November and December are benefiting from the recent rains. However, the water shortage and high temperatures in January and February probably reduced the yield potential of these crops.
In Argentina, the corn harvest reached 6.7% complete of 16.3 million acres (6.6 million hectares), advancing 1.3% last week to be 4.7% ahead of the pace recorded a year ago. Recent rains have made access to the crops difficult, delaying the pace of the harvest, especially in the west and center of Buenos Aires (province). But the quality of the crops have been progressively improving. Currently, 73% of the corn crop areas are in normal to excellent condition, an increase of 6% in the past week. Crops with optimal or adequate water conditions are 77%, an increase of 8% from a week ago.