Oct 11, 2010
Brazilian Farmers Expanding Cotton Acreage 22% to 29%
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Farmers in Mato Grosso, the leading cotton producing state in Brazil, are anxious to take advantage of some of the highest cotton prices in ten years by greatly increasing their cotton acreage. Surveys have indicated that Mato Grosso farmers intend to increase their 2010/11 cotton acreage by 30% compared to 2009/10. During the last growing season, farmers in Mato Grosso planted 420,000 hectares of cotton and that is expected to increase to 520,000 hectares in 2010/11. Nationwide, Conab is expecting that Brazilian farmers will plant 1.01 to 1.07 million hectares of cotton, which would be 22% to 29% more than the cotton acreage planted in Brazil in 2009/10.
Full season cotton varieties in Mato Grosso are generally planted during the month of December, but there has been increased interest in planting cotton as a second crop after soybeans. This second crop of cotton, called safrinha cotton, is planted during January and February after the soybeans have been harvested. safrinha cotton has a shorter life cycle, 170 days compared to 210 days for full season cotton, and it is planted in narrow rows, 18 inches between rows compared to 30 inch row spacing for full season cotton. In order to have enough time to get through its reproductive phase before the onset of another dry season, the safrinha cotton should generally be planted before about February 20th. safrinha cotton generally yields less than full season cotton, but the savings in chemical costs more than make up for the yield reduction.
safrinha cotton is a relatively new crop in the state where it's only been planted for three or four years. The safrinha cotton acreage in the state is expected to hit 100,000 hectares in 2010/11 compared to 50,000 hectares planted in 2009/10.
Farmers planning on planting safrinha cotton are concerned about the delayed onset of the summer rains. If soybean planting is delayed too long due to dry weather, it could delay the planting of the safrinha cotton crop to past the ideal planting window.
While cotton prices are up compared to last year, the cost of growing the cotton crop is expected to remain the same as last year due mainly to flat chemical prices. It is estimated that the cost of production in Mato Grosso will be approximately US$ 2,200 per hectare in 2010/11.