Cotton scenario in Mato Grosso reveals advances and uncertainties

Cotton in Mato Grosso is a pioneering industry, marked by challenges and achievements that have led to an increase in the area planted, productivity and quality gains, the result of resilience and technological investments, which have allowed the state to meet the needs of an increasingly demanding market. The state is currently the largest national producer, followed by Bahia, which together account for 90% of Brazil's cotton.

The projected area in Mato Grosso for the 2024/2025 harvest of 1,56 million hectares - a very dynamic crop and part of an integrated cultivation system - was expected to grow in area and productivity when compared to the previous harvest. However, some factors such as climate, market, among others, may interfere in this scenario, as reported by consultant Rubem Cezar Staudt, representative of Astecplan, and Essere Group R&D Specialist, Ayrton Trentini.

Due to the characteristics of the producing regions in Mato Grosso, plantings are divided into harvest, where the producer plants at the end of December, and second harvest, which follows an early soybean crop, with planting in January. This second modality is the most adopted by cotton growers in the state.

Due to delays in soybean planting caused by the lack of rain at the beginning of the harvest, there is a domino effect and will compromise cotton planting in the most suitable windows for this 2024/2025 harvest, since most of the cotton in Mato Grosso is planted after soybeans.

There are occasional migrations to the cotton harvest, around 10 to 12%, which were already common. In January, an area of ​​30 to 40% is projected, and February should start with 50% of the planting, which could be extended until March. This last period is a period of greater risk and more dangerous due to rainfall cuts at the end of the crop cycle, depending on the climate to extend to balance productivity and production costs.

One strategy was to look for earlier varieties, but there is still a lack of shorter-cycle materials to achieve more competitive productivity potential with those with a medium/late cycle. Other factors such as production costs, attractive corn and flexibility to enter in a more suitable planting window, should impact producers entering the crop, as well as the migration of cotton areas to corn.