Paraná producers begin to benefit from the increase in soybean and corn prices in the foreign and domestic markets. According to the Department of Rural Economy (Deral), an agency linked to the State Secretariat of Agriculture and Food Supply of Paraná (Seab), this year the price of soybeans has already risen by 11% and corn by 8%.
For Norberto Ortigara, the state secretary of Agriculture of Paraná, this valorization came in good time, just when the producer is harvesting his harvest and with that he can sell the production well. “The positive reaction in grain prices in the harvest period is an incentive for producers at the moment they need it most,” he said. The appreciation of commodities is occurring as a result of the long drought in Argentina, one of the world’s largest soybean producers alongside the United States and Brazil. Argentine technicians comment that this is the biggest drought in the country in the last 30 years and speak of losses around 10 million tons of soybeans, which is already reflecting in the foreign market.
Deral’s director, Francisco Carlos Simioni, said that the producer has gone through a difficult period since the planting, with excessive rains, and summer with low incidence of light, which lengthened the development cycle of the plants. Even so, the soybean producer is harvesting with good productivity and now begins to benefit from excellent production and positive market. “This is the compensation for anyone who planted with technology, did soil conservation and correctly followed the research and technical assistance manuals,” he said.
The Paraná producer is also benefiting from the weather. According to the Deral, before there was the prospect of La Niña weak, with no rain, which did not occur. The lack of rain caused the delay in planting. Then, during the development of the crops, the luminosity was below the ideal, causing a lengthening of the soybean cycle, also delaying the harvest.
According to the economist of the Deral, Marcelo Garrido, this succession of climatic events, which could harm the culture here, ended up benefiting the plants. Producers began to harvest almost simultaneously at the start of the price-hike cycle. The producer from Paraná who was receiving about R $ 62 a bag of soybeans in January, this March started to receive around R $ 70. Due to this reaction in the prices some regional centers of Seab are communicating that the producers are accelerating sales, to seize the good moment.
Deral expects to harvest 19.3 million tons in Paraná in the 2017/18 harvest. According to the latest Deral survey, 46% of the planted area (2.5 million ha) has already been harvested. Even so, the harvest is still delayed. According to Garrido, at the same time last year, 56% of the planted area had already been harvested. Corn is also appreciating, although the bullish factor is more related to the domestic market, said Deral coach Edmar Gervásio. The Paraná producer was receiving R $ 22.14 a bag of 60 kg in January, and last week received an average of R $ 25.00 a bag.
According to Gervásio, the price of corn started to increase more due to the uncertainty in the performance of the second Brazilian grain crop, which is being planted. With the delayed harvesting of soybeans, caused by the weather, corn planting of the second crop was also delayed. This condition may have repercussions during the production cycle if frost occurs earlier this year. That is, the producers will be at a greater risk, since the possibility of harvesting the maize of the second harvest before the arrival of the frost season has been reduced. Usually frost tends to occur from the second half of May.
“The concern is whether there will actually be sufficient production to meet domestic demand for corn due to the adverse weather conditions that caused the late planting and the risk of cold ahead,” he said. Meanwhile, a second crop of 63 million tons of corn is expected in Brazil and 12.3 million tons in Paraná. About 17% of the first crop of corn planted in the State has already been harvested and 70% of the total area that should be occupied with the second harvest has already been planted. Maize producers, who had hoped for price stability, also began to benefit from the price increase