Conab slices 10 MMT off its Brazilian corn crop peg

Conab, Brazil’s USDA equivalent, slashed its total corn crop estimate for Brazil by more than 10 MMT since May, dropping its production estimate to 96.39 MMT. Its safrinha corn crop estimate now stands at just 69.96 MMT. The dramatic slide in crop size also led to a 5.5-MMT drop in Conab’s corn export forecast, with the statistics agency now calling for Brazil to ship 29.5 MMT of corn in 2020-21. USDA was less aggressive than Conab, dropping its Brazilian corn crop forecast from 102.0 MMT in May to 98.5 MMT, with exports now projected at 33 MMT. That’s down just 1 MMT from USDA’s forecast last month. Some private analysts peg Brazil’s corn crop under 90 MMT.

Conab’s soybean crop forecast for Brazil edged more than 450,000 MT higher to 135.86 MMT, with exports expected to total 86.65 MMT. Later in the morning, USDA projected Brazil’s soybean crop at 137 MMT, with exports expected to total 86 MMT.

Brazil’s wheat crop will likely climb 11% from 2020 levels to 6.94 MMT this season, according to Conab. The agency estimated Brazil’s cotton crop at 2.34 MMT, which would be a 22% drop from the 2019-20 season.