Brazil: Cotton Area with Record Yields
USDA has forecasted Brazil’s 2015/16 cotton production at 6.7 million bales, down 0.3 million bales or 4.3 % from last year. Harvested area is forecast at 0.93 million hectares, down 0.05 million or 5.1 % from last year. Yield is forecast at a record 1577 kilograms per hectare, slightly above last year’s record level
Earlier expectations were that Bahia cotton area would decline slightly while area in Mato Grosso would be the same. The decreasing value of the Brazilian currency, however, has changed planting intentions. Although the value of cotton increases with the devaluation, the costs of production have also increased due to the rising costs of fertilizers and pesticides. They are reported at about 7260 Reais (USD 1767,38) per hectare in Mato Grosso and even higher in Bahia at 8000 Reais(1947.52) per hectare.
About 47 percent of Brazil’s crop is planted as safrinha cotton. Safrinha is a farming strategy whereby the farmer takes advantage of a long tropical growing season to produce two crops in a single growing season, thereby maximizing revenue per acre. Planting of safrina cotton in Mato Grosso occurs after the soybeans are harvested. Mato Grosso is the largest cotton- producing state in Brazil and it is forecast to produce 60 percent of national output. It is the growing dominance of Mato Grosso relative to the nation that accounts for the increasing cotton yields and this year’s forecast of record yields at the beginning of the season.