Greatagribusinessstar,theoilseedcrop
amountedto114milliontonsinthe2016/17
growingseason,anearly20percent
increasefromthepreviousyear.There
aremorenoveltiesinstoreforthecoming
season,accordingtoanalysts.
B
razilian agribusiness had an
outstanding
performance
in every facet in the 2016/17
growing season. Weather con-
ditions were as favorable as
never before throughout the entire cycle
of the summer crops, and this help, along
with the adoption of a better technolog-
ical package, made productivity soar sig-
nificantly. While this scenario was com-
mon with most crops, the soybean fields
achievedaperformance that borders on ex-
cellence. Brazil harvested 114 million tons,
up 19.5 percent from the previous season,
which had reached 95.4million tons.
The result achieved at soybean is even
more expressive seeing that the Country,
over the past two seasons, had to grapple
with an economic crisis that came in the
company of a scenario of political instabil-
ity, a picture that did not bring any bene-
fit to entrepreneurs and rural producers of
all segments. That is to say, agribusiness
boasts numbers that can only be found in a
strongly consolidated global economy, but
needs to surmount all sorts of internal ad-
versities in sectors that are not only unable
to prop up entrepreneurship, but, in gener-
al, stifle such initiatives.
Just for the soybean crop, Brazil pre-
pared 33.9 million hectares in the 2016/17
growing season. Compared to the previous
season,itwasanincreaseofonly2%percent.
This attests that the jump in productionwas
simply 10 percent bigger than the increase
in planted area. What made the difference,
of course, was the 17 percent increase in
productivity from one season to the next.
All that glitters is
soybean
It is thanks to this surprising capacity to be-
lieve in its potential and trust in tomorrow
that the new agricultural crop is now being
established in the second half of 2017.
What does the new season have in store,
intermsofplantedarea,volumeandproduc-
tivity? Part of the answer, of course, is still un-
known, as it will again depend on the behav-
ior of the climate. If in the recently finished
period it was favorable, in almost all the re-
gions throughout the national agricultur-
al frontier, nothing can assure us that in the
coming season weather conditions will not
negatively interferewith the crop.
What leaves us without any doubt is the
fact that Brazil will continue playing its rel-
evant role as global leader in the supply of
soybean and soybean-based products. Hun-
dreds of countries know all too well that few
nationsintheworld(incasethereisone)have
such suitable conditions as Brazil, in terms of
land, water, climate, investments and the ca-
pacity toproduce soybeanandother cereals.
Iftheworldisawareofthefactthat,yearafter
year, there is need for more food, and more
qualityofwhatever isput on thedining table,
thentheworldalsoknowsthatBrazilisavery
reliable supplier.
Happy reading!
Inor Ag. Assmann
8
