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Brazil’s CONAB forecasts record soybean output, higher exports

Brazil’s equivalent of the USDA is projecting bigger soybean production.

CONAB’s has Brazil’s new soybean crop at 177.639 million tons, which would be up 3.6% from the previous season’s all-time high thanks to increased planted area and a higher yield.

CONAB is anticipating a rise in soybean exports to 112.11 million tons due to the larger crop and the trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

Total corn production is expected to be 1.8% lower than last year at 138.604 million tons, with a higher estimate for the first crop more than canceled out by smaller second and third crop production on lower yield estimates. First crop production is pegged at 25.632 million tons, potentially up 2.8%, with the second crop at 110.45 million tons, down 2.5%, and the third crop at 2.511 million tons, 13.1% lower.

Even with the dip in corn production, CONAB expects Brazil to export more corn in the new marketing year, from 40 million tons in 2024/25 to 46.5 million in 2025/26.

CONAB is also projecting increased domestic biofuel use for both corn and beans.

Soybean and first crop corn planting in Brazil are reportedly both close to average.