The sixth estimate for 2016 of the national harvest of cereals, legumes and oilseeds added up to 191.8 million tonnes and declined 8.4% – or less 17.6 million tonnes – when compared with 2015 (209.4 million tonnes). The drop was of 2.1% (-4.0 million tonnes) when compared with the May estimate.
The estimated area to be harvested (57.5 million hectares) retreated 0.1% (-105,923 hectares) against 2015 (57.6 million hectares). The decline was of 0.3% (-146,847 hectares) in relation to May. Rice, corn and soybeans, the three main products of this group, represented, together, 92.4% of the estimated production and 87.4% of the area to be harvested.  The area for soybeans increased 2.8%, the area for corn reduced 1.2% and the area for rice reduced 9.4% in relation to 2015. The production estimates were negative: -0.6% for soybeans, -12.2% for rice and -18.0% for corn.

Cereals, legumes and oilseeds
Major Regions and Federation Units
Participation in production
June 2016

Cereals, legumes and oilseeds
Major Regions and Federation Units
Participation in Production
June 2016

In regional terms, the production of cereals, legumes and oilseeds registered the following distribution: Central-West, 79.9 million tonnes; South, 74.2 million tonnes; Southeast, 19.7 million tonnes; Northeast, 11.7 million tonnes and North, 6.3 million tonnes. Compared with the 2015 harvest, the Southeast (1.9%) increased and the North (-17.8%), Northeast (-29.2%), Central-West (-11.1%) and South
(-2.2%) Regions decreased. This estimate for 2016 pointed Mato Grosso as the biggest national producer of grains, with a share of 24.9%, followed by Paraná (18.9%) and Rio Grande do Sul (16.5%). These three states together accounted for 60.3% of the overall estimate.

June estimate in relation to May 2016

The June´s Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production highlighted the following changes in the production estimates: bean seed - 3rd crop (11.3%), onions (9.8%), peanuts in the shell – 2nd crop (4.9%), soybean grain (-0.2%), sugarcane (-0.6%), paddy rice (-0.6%), corn grain 1st crop (-2.6%), bean seed - 1st crop (-4.3%), corn grain 2nd crop (-5.6%), coffee beans - canephora (-10.0%) and sorghum grain (-22.7%).

PEANUTS IN THE SHELL - The estimated production for 2016 was of 420.3 thousand tonnes, representing an increase of 0.5% against May. São Paulo accounted for 91.8% of this total. Predominantly produced in the first crop (94.7%), this product is usually related to renovated areas of old sugarcane fields. The estimated production of peanuts in the shell - 2nd crop stood out in June, as it increased 4.9% against May. As a whole, 22.4 thousand tonnes were estimated for 2016, highlighted by the production in Alagoas (100.3%).

PADDY RICE - 10.8 million tonnes, dropping 0.6% in relation to the May estimate (-69,511 tonnes). Maranhão, Rondônia, Santa Catarina, Pará, Ceará, Alagoas and Mato Grosso do Sul were the main responsible for the negative estimate in June. In the North and Northeast, the estimated average yield declined due to droughts, as well as to the declines in the planted areas in Maranhão (-3,900 ha),
Pará (-1,189 ha), Tocantins (-615 ha) and Ceará (-468 ha). In Santa Catarina, the decrease of 0.5% in the estimated production was the result of smaller estimates for harvested area (-0.2%) and average yield (-0.3%). Conversely, rice crops suffered with high precipitation and low insolation in the South Region.

COFFEE BEANS - 2.9 million tonnes or 48.8 million 60-kg sacks, dropping 1.6% in relation to the previous month. Coffea arabica accounted for 82.0% and canephora (conillon), for 18.0%. As the major producer of coffea canephora (60.1% of the national production), Espírito Santo should harvest 316.3 thousand tonnes, a drop of 16.0% against the estimated production in the previous month, due to droughts that had been affecting the major producing municipalities for two consecutive years.

SUGARCANE - production of 726.7 million tonnes, 0.6% below that of May. Alagoas (-14.0%) was the main responsible for this decline. The crop was affected by the lack of rainfall and of financial resources from the suppliers, which took the average yield to a retreat of 7.0%. The production decreased 3.1% in Rio de Janeiro, reflecting a smaller planted area. Paraná (-0.4%), Ceará (-1.6%), Pará (-0.1%), Acre (0.4%) and Espírito Santo (3.0%) also experienced small adjustments in the production.

ONIONS - rise of 9.8% in relation to the previous month, with an estimated production of 1.6 million tonnes (against 1.4 million reported in May). The rise was due to the information from Santa Catarina, the biggest national producer, which expected a planted area of 21,277 hectares and an average yield of 23,327 kg/ha. The estimated production was of 496.3 thousand tonnes, a rise of 42.1% over May. Having started the harvest, Minas Gerais estimated a production of 182.1 thousand tonnes (-4.1% in relation to May). The drop in the expected average yield (-3.4%) was the main responsible for the low production.

BEAN SEED - reduction of 1.0% in the month and of 6.6% in the year, due to unfavorable weather conditions, which caused the prices to rise, especially those of pinot beans. Beans - 1st crop retreated (-4.3%) in June, considering the drop in the estimated production in Ceará (-47.3%). The drought that affected this state should also influence the second crop with an expected reduction of 5.5%. Other states decreased their production, like Maranhão (-2.2%), Alagoas (-7.9%) Espírito Santo (-48.5%), Rio de Janeiro (-5.6%), Mato Grosso do Sul (-11.1%) and the Federal District (-41.8%). The increase in the price caused an expected expansion in the third crop, both in the planted areas (10.9%) and in the expected production (11.3%), as Minas Gerais (23.4%) and Goiás (7.1%), the major producers in this harvest, were reassessed. However, the production was still 2.2% below that obtained in 2015.

CORN GRAIN - Climate conditions that affected the first crop remained in the second crop, bringing the estimated production down by 4.6% (70.1 million tonnes). The first crop recorded a new reduction in the production: 25.2 million tonnes (-2.6% over May). The harvested area (5.3 million hectares) also declined (-0.9%). The biggest influences in the reduction of the production were: Ceará (-300,431 t), Maranhão (-204,772 t), the Federal District (-90,307 t), Santa Catarina (-74,000 t) and Pará (-20,066 t). The estimated production in the second crop (44.9 million tonnes) retreated 5.6% and the average yield (4,458 kg/ha), 4.9%. The estimated production in MS (-11.8%), PR (-6.6%), GO (-9.0%),
MA (-59.2%), TO (-47.1%), DF (­57.2%), MG (-2.0%), PA (-9.5%) and ES (-63.2%) declined.

SOYBEAN GRAIN - Having virtually finished the harvest, the estimated production of soybeans in Brazil in June was of 96.6 million tonnes, representing a drop of 0.3% over the previous month. The highest change in June was posted in Paraná, which reported the estimated production of the small crop (317,903 tonnes), below the previous report. As a result, the production in this state reached 17.0 million tonnes in 2016, representing a drop of 0.8% against the previous month. The Federal District should crop 208.6 thousand tonnes in this harvest with the increases in the planted area (89.8%) and in the production (82.9%).

SORGHUM GRAIN - estimated production of 1.3 million tonnes, representing a reduction of 22.7% over May. The decrease of 17.3% in the estimated average yield was the main responsible for the drop in the production. The average yield was expected to be 2,351 kg/ha. Goiás and Minas Gerais were the two biggest producers of sorghum in Brazil. Together, they held 62.6% of the estimated national production. Considering the drought that affected the Central-West, the average yield and the harvested area were expected to drop in Goiás, representing a decrease of 33.9% and 20.6% over May. As a result, the production should decline 47.5%, adding up to 396.9 thousand tonnes. The estimated production in Minas Gerais was of 391.7 thousand tonnes, 1.3% above that registered in May.

June estimate in relation to the production of 2015

Among the 26 major products, 12 registered a rise in the production estimate over 2015: peanuts in the shell - 1st crop (20.6%), peanuts in the shell – 2nd crop (4.3%), oat grain (34.4%), potatoes - 1st crop (5.0%), potatoes - 2nd crop (4.1%), cacao nuts (3.3%), coffee beans - arabica (20.3%), onions (9.9%), barley grain (40.7%), castor beans (11.4%), wheat grain (18.4%) and triticale grain (11.8%). Fourteen products recorded a negative change: upland cottonseed (9.6%), paddy rice (12.2%), potatoes - 3rd crop (25.1%), coffee beans - canephora (19.6%), sugarcane (3.1%), bean seed - 1st crop (6.4%), bean seed - 2nd crop (8.4%), bean seed - 3rd crop (2.2%), oranges (3.2%), cassava (1.1%), corn grain 1st crop (14.0%), corn grain 2nd crop (20.1%), soybean grain (0.6%) and sorghum grain (40.7%).

The Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production (LSPA) is a monthly survey to forecast and monitor the harvest of the main agricultural products, whose information is obtained by means of the Municipal Commissions (COMEA) and/or Regional Commissions (COREA). The latter are consolidated in state level by the Agriculture Statistics Coordinating Groups (GCEA) and, later, evaluated at national level, by the Special Commission of Planning, Control and Evaluation of Agricultural Statistics (CEPAGRO). This Commission is formed by representatives from IBGE and from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA). 

The surveys relative to cereals (rice, corn, oat, rye, barley, sorghum, wheat and triticale), legumes (peanuts and beans) and oilseeds (cotton seed, castor beans, soybeans and sunflower) have been conducted in partnership with the National Supply Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture - Conab, a subdivision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply - MAPA. That initiative is the result of a process, started in March 2007, of harmonization of official harvest estimates for the main Brazilian crops.