In terms of active establishments in the survey, the total storage capacity available in Brazil for stocking was 167.0 million tonnes in the second half of 2017, 0.6% below the first half of 2017 (168.0 million tonnes). Having registered 39.4 million tonnes, Mato Grosso had the largest stocking capacity. The stock of agricultural products added up to 31.5 million tonnes in this period, against 24.6 million tonnes in the same period of 2016. Among the agricultural products, the largest volume stocked was of corn (13.8 million tonnes), followed by soybeans (8.5 million), wheat (3.8 million), rice (2.1 million) and coffee (971.3 thousand tonnes).

With 78.7 million tonnes, silos prevail in warehouse network

Having reached 78.8 million tonnes in the second semester of 2017, silos prevailed in terms of storage capacity, accounting for 47.2% of the total storage capacity. Silos dropped 0.5% in relation to the previous semester. They were followed by automated and bulk warehouses, which accounted for 37.8% of the national storage and hit 63.1 million tonnes of storage capacity, an increase of 0.1%. Conventional, structural and inflatable warehouses added up to 25.1 million metric tonnes, which represented a drop of 2.5% in relation to the first semester of 2017.

Stocks of corn, soybeans and rice rise

The stocks of corn, soybeans and rice rose 63.8%, 36.1% and 48.5%, respectively, in relation to the second semester of 2016.. Corn represented the greatest stocked volume (13.8 million metric tons) followed by soybeans stocks (8.5 million), wheat (3.8 million), rice (2.1 million) and coffee (971.3 thousand metric tons). These products represented 92.6% of the volume of grains stocked among the products monitored by the survey.

Corn performed a record in 2017, favored by climate factors and improvement of the harvested area by 19.3%. According to the Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production - LSPA of December 2017, the output of corn hit 99.6 million tonnes, a rise of 55.2% over the 2016 harvest, marked by storms.

The good climate conditions also favored the production of soybeans. According to the LSPA of December 2017, the output of this oilseed reached 115.0 million tonnes, representing an increase of 19.4% over 2016. The surplus produced a national stock of 8.5 million tonnes, 36.1% above the second semester of 2016.

The stocks of paddy rice increased 48.5% in comparison with the reference date of 2016. In December 2017, the output of rice was estimated at 12.5 million tonnes, representing an increase of 17.2% over the last year. The positive result was fruit of the favorable conditions in the main producing regions.

On the other hand, the stock of wheat added up to 3.8 million tonnes, a value 28.2% lower than that obtained in the second semester of 2016. The climate conditions in the south of Brazil did not contribute to the development of the winter harvest. According to the LSPA, the harvest obtained in 2017 provided 4.2 million tonnes of wheat, 37.9% less than that obtained in 2016.

The amount of stocked coffee decreased 23.4% over the same period a year ago. A total of 971.3 thousand tonnes of this grain were stored, being 858.1 thousand tonnes of the arabica type and 113.2 thousand tonnes of the canephora type.