Brazil Says Soybean, Corn Output to Beat Forecasts (Update1)

By Carlos Caminada and Ines Cavalcanti

Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Soybean output in Brazil, the world's second-biggest grower, will rise this year as climbing prices led farmers to boost planting, the government said. Corn production may rise more than expected to a record.

Brazilian soybean growers will harvest a record 58.5 million metric tons this year, compared with 58.4 million tons in the previous harvest, the Agriculture Ministry's crop forecasting agency, known as Conab, said today in a report. In January, Conab forecast production to fall to 58.2 million tons this year.

Higher soybean prices prompted some Brazilian farmers to increase planting of the oilseed to 20.9 million hectares (51.6 million acres) from 20.7 million hectares, according to Conab. Soybean prices jumped 78 percent last year after surging demand for corn to make ethanol led U.S. farmers to switch crops.

Corn farmers in Brazil, the world's third-biggest grower, will harvest 53.6 million tons, up from the January estimate of 53.4 million tons. Farmers harvested 51.4 million tons in the past crop.
The Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics, known as IBGE, earlier today raised its forecast for soybean output to 58.3 million tons from 58.2 million tons. It also raised its estimate for corn to 53.8 million tons from 53.4 million tons.

Conab and the IBGE are integrating their forecasts and plan to release them as a single joint report.