SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL — Brazil’s soybean crop is predicted to grow 24 million tonnes year-over-year to 152.6 million tonnes in 2023, Reuters reported, citing oilseed crushers group Abiove.

While this is lower than Abiove’s previous 2023 estimate, it still represents a record output with growers adding soybean hectares this year after severe drought hit southern Brazil in 2022. 

The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture forecasts Brazilian farmers will plant 43.3 million hectares of soybeans for marketing year 2022-23, compared to 40.9 million in 2021-22. The FAS estimate for the 2022-23 soybean crop is 153 million tonnes.

Brazil, the world's largest soybean producer and exporter, also is seen shipping a record 92 million tonnes of the oilseed this year, a 16.6% jump over the previous season though slightly below an earlier forecast of 93 million, Abiove said.