With corn as the protagonist, Brazil is expected to break a record in grain production in 2022

Brazilian indicators for grain production in the 2021/2022 harvest point to a record number. According to the 11th Grain Harvest Survey, produced by the National Supply Company (Conab) and released this August, projections indicate a production of 271,4 million tons of grains. The estimated volume is 6,2% higher than that harvested in 2020/2021, which means 15,9 million tons more in production, which closed the last harvest with 255,5 million tons.

Corn plays a leading role on the national scene, with an estimated production of 114,7 million tons, 31,7% higher than that produced in 2020/2021. The first harvest of 2021/2022 is being harvested, the second is in the harvest phase and the third harvest had its planting completed in July.

Record for sown area

The dry and hot weather recorded in July favored the advancement of the harvest of the second 2021/2022 corn crop in most producing regions, exceeding 70% of the sown area, which reached 16.372,1 thousand hectares. The sown area is 9,2% higher than the 2020/2021 harvest and is the largest area ever recorded for cereal cultivation.

With more than 90% of the area already harvested and with the best average productivity in the country, reaching a yield of 6.338 kg/ha, Mato Grosso is the most advanced state in work related to harvesting second-crop corn. The expected average productivity for this harvest is 5.339 kg/ha, 31,8% higher than the 2020/2021 harvest.

Other grains

The main grain harvest in Brazil comes from soybeans, with an estimated production of 124 million tons. The harvest is now complete and, despite the enormous volume, there was a 10,2% reduction in production, the result of a severe drought observed in the south of the country at the end of 2021.

In addition to corn, cotton and beans saw an increase in production taking into account the 2020/2021 harvest. For cotton, estimated production is 2,74 million tons, 16% higher than the last harvest. Harvest completion is scheduled for September.

Beans have an estimated production of 3,05 million tons, 5,3% higher than the previous harvest. Of the total, 1.813 thousand tons are of colored common beans, 576,4 thousand tons of black common beans and 656,9 thousand tons of cowpeas. The first harvest is finished. The second crop has already finished harvesting, with the exception of irrigated areas in western Bahia, and the third crop is starting to harvest. For rice, production is estimated at 10,8 million tons and the harvest is already completed.

Other grains, such as oats, canola, barley, wheat and triticale (hybrid cereal resulting from the crossing of durum wheat and rye) also have record production. For wheat alone, the estimate is 9,2 million tons, with harvesting having already started in the Central-West.

Other products, such as peanuts, sesame, sunflower and castor beans, also saw significant increases when compared to 2020/2021. Sesame jumped from 56,7 thousand tons to 98,1 thousand tons in 2021/2022, an increase of 73%. Castor beans went from 27,4 thousand tons to 43,7 thousand tons (positive variation of 59,5%) and peanuts jumped from 596,9 thousand tons to 746,7 thousand tons (25,1% more). As for sunflower, production in the last harvest was 36,2 thousand tons and rose to 40,8 thousand tons (12,7% more) in this harvest.

Regions produce more

Conab's 11th Grain Harvest Survey also showed that production had a considerable gain in four of the five Brazilian regions. The biggest jump was observed in the Northeast, which in the 2020/2021 harvest had a production of 23,706 million tons. For the 2021/2022 harvest, the volume should jump to 27,540 million tons, a positive variation of 16,2%.

The percentage is practically the same as the Central-West Region, which jumped from 117,371 million tons in the 2020/2021 harvest to 136,194 million in the 2021/2022 harvest, an increase of 16%.

The North and Southeast Regions also had significant gains. Production in the North, which in the 2020/2021 harvest was 12,245 million tons, rose to 14,127 million tons (+ 15,4%) in this harvest. In the Southeast, the gain was 12,7%, with production jumping from 24,091 million tons to 27,149 million tons in the 2021/2022 harvest.

The record grain production for the 2021/2022 harvest in Brazil would have been even greater if it were not for climate variations. In November last year, when the areas for first-crop crops were already defined and weather conditions were occurring within ideal standards, total grain production was forecast at 291,1 million tons, which would correspond to a growth of 13,9% compared to the previous harvest.