Brazilian cotton area reaches 2 million hectares

Unpublished data from Serasa Experian showed that cotton planting increased by 21,9% when comparing the 2023/24 and 2022/23 harvests. In other words, from one cut to the other, there was an increase of approximately 363 thousand hectares (ha), going from 1.657.268 to 2.020.380 ha in total.

Also according to the company's proprietary analyses, the newly mapped total number shows the importance of collecting spatial data, that is, via satellite. This is because, before it, several projections made, based on estimated calculations, predicted a planting of around 1,9 million ha, while mapping done by remote sensing was able to confirm more than 2 million ha.

“We believe that projections based on subjective estimates are important, even with the limitations inherent to this method, as they help market movement and bring benefits to the entire chain. However, satellite mapping is essential, as it uses images that allow for the exact identification of crops,” comments Daniel Aguiar, executive manager of geoprocessing at Serasa Experian.

The executive also mentions examples that show how this practice generates valuable inputs for decision-making in agribusiness. “Understanding the dynamics of expansion of the main crops, for example, allows customers to better position themselves in the market, predicting fluctuations in supply and demand, as well as, consequently, in commodity prices. Another important function of this agricultural mapping, in crops such as cotton, is the support provided to the royalty control system, to aid identification and, therefore, the necessary regulation.”

Total harvest figures show greater participation from Mato Grosso and Bahia

The unprecedented data mapped by Serasa Experian revealed which Federative Units (UF) concentrated the majority of production. The highlight is Mato Grosso, which was responsible for 73,5% of the country's cotton planting. Next was Bahia, with 17,5% and Minas Gerais, with 1,7%. 

Mapping by municipalities records 222 thousand hectares for Sapezal, in Mato Grosso

In addition to the view by Federative Unit, satellite image data revealed the representation of each municipality in the 2023/24 cotton harvest. Sapezal (MT) was the municipality that contributed the most, followed by Campo Novo do Parecis (MT) and São Desidério (BA). 

According to the executive manager of geoprocessing at Serasa Experian, crop identification performed by interpreting satellite images has a huge advantage over projections and other ways of estimating cultivated area. “This type of technology makes mapping possible and, therefore, identifying where each hectare was actually planted and what was planted on each hectare. So, with spatial information, we can understand the regional dynamics of land use and create subsidies for more complex analyses, related, for example, to ESG issues.”

See the following GIF for a sample mapping of cotton cultivation in the municipality of Sapezal, within the State of Mato Grosso:

Another feature of satellite mapping is the possibility of spatial comparison between maps over time, building a planting history year by year in the region analyzed.

When analyzing cotton cultivation in the municipality of Lucas do Rio Verde (MT), for example, it is possible to observe the expansion of cultivation between the 2022/23 and 2023/24 harvests. In the first, the region registered 58.364 ha of planting and in the second it marked 75.141 ha. In other words, there was an increase of 29% between one period and the other, a growth above the national average (21,9%). Check out the illustration of this data in the GIF below: