Sep 30, 2010
Lower Seed Sales Indicate Reduced Full Season Corn Acreage in Brazil
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The extended dry season in Brazil has had an effect on the anticipated 2010/11 full season corn acreage in the country. In the Brazilian states where the corn is planted earlier (late August through September), such as Parana and Rio Grande do Sul, farmers are reducing their full season corn acreage while in states where planting occurs later, such as Minas Gerais, farmers are increasing their full season corn acreage. The net result though is going to be a 10% to 15% reduction in Brazil's full season corn acreage.
Even though corn prices have increased in recent weeks, many farmers in southern Brazil had already made the decision to cut back on their corn acreage before the recent price strength. That decision was reinforced as being the correct one when the extended dry season kept corn planters out of the field until just a few days ago.
The Brazilian Seed Association (Abrasem) estimates that the sale of seed corn for the 2010/11 growing season, which farmers are now starting to plant, will decline 10% to 15% compared to last year. Between May and August of 2009, 1.49 million sacks of seed corn were sold in Brazil compared to 1.78 million sacks sold during the same period last year or a reduction of 16%. Each sack of seed corn contains 60,000 seeds, which is enough to plant approximately two acres.
In Parana, which is the leading corn producing state in Brazil when both full season and the safrinha corn crop is combined, seed sales for full season corn production fell 27% from 420 thousand units sold last year to 306 thousand units this year. In Rio Grande do Sul, the decline was 17% from 712 thousand last year to 588 thousand this year.
In states where corn planting does not begin until early October such as Minas Gerais, the sale of seed for full season corn production increased 22% from 98 thousand units to 120 thousand units.
Even though Brazilian farmers will reduce their full season corn acreage, they will increase their use of GMO corn hybrids. It is expected that Brazil's 2010/11 full season corn crop will be 51% GMO compared to 35.5% for the 2009/10 growing season. Farmers in southern Brazil are utilizing GMO corn hybrids more readily than in other regions of the country. The full season corn crop in Goias is expected to be 89% GMO, in Sao Paulo it will be 85% GMO, and in Parana it is expected to be 72% GMO.