Agriculture Update from Brazil

By:  EDUARDO PAIM who works in Brazil with brokering / trading of soybeans, corn, cotton, sorghum, etc.  

Eduardo emailed me a few days ago and offered to help teach and update my readers concerning agriculture in Brazil.  Below is his first update.  I hope my readers appreciate and learn from Eduardo. 

 

It's great to know that we will be able to exchange conversations, certainly I'll send you the information here in Brazil and other information here that I know of crops in South America

I'll tell you how it is here near the beginning of the planting season in our summer 2012/2013 for soybeans.

Since the beginning of September the producers are already expecting rains to start planting soybeans, but we have some problems we do not know how it will look, for example:

Ports in Brazil were on strike, and returned to work there for about two weeks, this will delay the delivery of a part of some fertilizer for farmers planting soybeans and this will disrupt planting; Another problem is that the Brazilian government approved a law, truck drivers must drive / work 4 hours and rest / sleep 30 minutes and so until the end of the trip, this will delay shipping that is already in trouble. Here in Brazil the distances are long and complicated.  Drivers will stop where they have rests, as he goes to sleep at dawn on the road? is very risky / dangerous. Transport for corn going for export is also delayed because the ports were on strike, and now companies are vying trucks to transport the fertilizer and maize. One solution I think is to hire two drivers, while one follows the other rests driving the truck and this will make transportation much more expensive than it already is, after the law's passage freight rose about 30%.

Another problem is that the map will only have some rain water falling in late September, and will be little rain, on Oct. 15 has forecast that rains will be good to start planting soybeans.

Here in Brazil soybean producers have sold in advance 43% of soybeans to be harvested in 2013, the same period of the previous crop they sold 22%.