The production estimate for the 2018/19 grain harvest in Paraná is higher than last year by approximately 4%, and can reach 23.3 million tons, according to the monthly report of the harvest by the Department of Rural Economy (Deral), the Secretary of State for Agriculture and Supply.
According to Deral, the planting of soybeans, beans and corn is almost complete. This year, some farmers resumed planting maize, helping to improve the crop rotation system.
“In November, the rains had a decrease of volume, and with this the producers could enter the field to almost complete the works of the first harvest. If we continue to cooperate as we have this month, we can have our potential, “said George Hiraiwa, State Secretary of Agriculture and Supply. Still according to him, the wheat harvest was also benefited by the decrease of rains.
Soy
More than 98% of the estimated area is planted, which corresponds to the average for the period. The planting registered a good development: the planting began earlier, which should also reflect the anticipation of the harvest, with beginning scheduled for January. “The farmers anticipated the planting of the soybean so that the maize season does not suffer from the frost of the following months,” said Deral chief Marcelo Garrido. The climate continues to contribute to the progress of the harvest, which maintains production expectations of 19.6 million tons.
The price for the producer is compensatory – R $ 71 a bag of 60kg, a growth of 20% compared to last year, when the bag was sold at R $ 60. The marketing is at 18%, within the average of the last crops. “The trend is that we have a staggered marketing in this harvest,” explains Garrido. Regarding the area, there was no significant variation between the 2017/18 and 2018/19 crops, totaling 5.4 million hectares.
Corn
Corn finished planting the 2018/19 crop with a 5% gain in planted area, which increased from 331.5 thousand hectares in the previous harvest to almost 350 thousand hectares in the current harvest. Production is estimated at 3.2 million tons, 10% more than in the previous harvest, and the scenario is favorable, with an estimated productivity of more than 9 thousand kg. The 60 kg bag is marketed at R $ 28.00, a 38% increase over last year.
“Prices are heated due to the off-season, because there is not so much product available in the market and half of the previous crop is already commercialized,” said Dermar technician responsible for corn, Edmar Gervásio.
Bean
The planting of the 2018/19 harvest is practically closed, with an area of 167 thousand hectares, and an estimated production of 327 thousand tons. The harvest is in an initial phase, in 700 hectares, mainly in the regions of Francisco Beltrão, Guarapuava, Jacarezinho and Maringá. With the irregular climate in the plantation, about 67% of the crops are in good condition, 28% in average condition and 5% in bad conditions.
Prices are stabilized, but the expectation is that they will be warmer until January, with the low availability of the product. The bag of 60 kg of beans color is being sold at $ 101.17 and black beans at $ 121.61, according to the agronomist Carlos Alberto Salvador.
Wheat
Almost the entire area of the 2017/18 crop is harvested. The drought in the Northern Pioneiro made planting difficult and caused losses in the first planted crops, as well as in the later areas of the South of the State, a problem identified only in the last month. As a result, production was lowered to 2.8 million tonnes, compared to the initial estimate of 3.4 million tonnes.
The commercialization of wheat is at 1.7 million tons (62%), an index considered high for the period. The good quality product is being marketed with ease, but the rains at the end of the harvest should make it difficult to dispose of the worst quality product.
With the price of the bag at R $ 44, the variable costs of the producer must be compensated, if they remain at this level. “For the composition of future prices, we will weigh the volatility of the dollar and the conditions of the Argentine harvest”, assesses the agronomic engineer of the Deral, Carlos Hugo Godinho.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.