The report said total grain production in the country is expected to fall to 237.7 million tonnes. Corn output is forecast at 92.2 million tonnes, 5 million tonnes lower than in 2016-17, while soybean production is pegged at 109.2 million tonnes, down from 114.1 million a year ago.
Conab said soybean acreage is expected to increase by 3.1% but production would still decline due to the expectation of lower yields. Corn acreage would drop by 9.6%, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Conab said in the report that Brazil’s wheat imports are on course to hit their highest in years, lifted by the disappointing quality and quantity of the most recent domestic crop.
It raised by 200,000 tonnes, to 7.20 million tonnes, its forecast for Brazilian wheat imports this season, the highest total in more than a decade.
The revision came as the bureau cut by 269,000 tonnes, to 4.30 million tonnes, its estimate for the newly-finished wheat harvest, making it the smallest in 10 years.
