In the third evaluation of harvest in 2007,the production estimated by IBGE is 130,7 million tons, 1.0% above the February estimate (129,4 million tons) and 11.8% above the amount produced in 2006 (117,0 million tons). The area planted in 2007, 45,6 million hectares,  represents an increase of 0.2% in relation to the previous year. Among the products surveyed, soybeans and 1^st harvest – corn are the crops with the biggest cultivated areas, having, respectively, 20,7 and 9,4 million hectares planted.

The third estimate for this year, according to the Systematic survey of Agricultural Production (LSPA)¹, showed increase of the production of herbaceous cotton, of 1^st  harvest beans, of 1^st and 2^nd harvest beans, and the decrease of the production of  rice in husk.  

The increase by about 1,3 million tons between the date of February and March results from the harvests of 2^nd harvest corn in Paraná and of soybeans in Rio Grande do Sul, where a total of 5,5 million and 9,2 million tons of grains are expected to be harvested, respectively.

The production of cereals, legumes and oilseeds is distributed among the Major Regions as follows: South, 58,1 million tons; Central West, 41.5 million tons; Southeast, 16,0 million tons; Northeast, 11,7 million tons and North, 3,4 million tons.  

Harvest in the main producing centers in the country is already in progress, and is already finished for the types of grain sown before, for example, early-cycle soybeans. The climactic conditions have favored the development of crops which are still in the field, especially 2^nd harvest crops, such as corn. This grain had increases of 17.9% in planted area and 24.6% in the expected production for 2007 (14,0 million tons).

Agricultural Production 2007 – March/February estimate

In the Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production (LSPA) of March the highlights were the changes in the production estimates of five products: sugarcane (0.3%) coffee in grain (5.6%), 1^st harvest corn in grain (1.1%), 2^nd harvest corn in grain (5.5%) and soybeans in grain (0.3%).  

In relation to sugarcane, there is an increment of 0.3% in the production estimate in relation to the previous month, due to new data released about the states of Espírito Santo (2.4%), Rio de Janeiro (0.7%) and Rio Grande do Sul (0.6%). São Paulo, the major national producer, expects to harvest in 2007 an overall volume of 280 million tons, that is, 57% of all the sugarcane produced in the country. There is a strong tendency to increase of area for the future sugarcane crops, caused by the growing interest in fuel alcohol, besides the natural conditions for the harvest of this crop. At national level, the area is expected to increase by 7.9% in 2007.

For the coffee harvest of 2007, the estimate is about 2,251 million tons (37,5 million 60kg sacks), 5.6% above the amount informed in February. This increase is due to the information from Minas Gerais ,the major producer of Arabic coffee. In this state there were field evaluations, since the previous estimate was mainly based on prospects. In this March evaluation, the State presents an area directed to the harvest of 1,078,118 ha, with expected productivity of 975 kg.  

In relation to 1st and 2nd harvest corn, there were increments of 1.1% and 5.5% respectively, in the production estimate for March. The good price is the main reason for this increase. The expected production volumes are 36,3 million tons of 1^st harvest milk and 14,0 million tons for 2^nd harvest milk. In the same order, productivity estimates are 3,852 kg/ha and 3,562 kg/ha.

The increase of 0.3% in the production estimate for soybeans, this month, results from the reevaluation of 7.9% of the productivity index in Rio Grande do Sul. In this state, in an area of 3,9 million hectares and productivity of 2,359 kg/ha, the estimated production is 9,2 million tons ,representing 16.1% of the production of soybeans in the country, estimated as 56,9 million tons.

Agricultural Production 2006 – March/February estimate

Among the twenty-five products surveyed by the IBGE survey on the agricultural harvest 2007, at national level, showed positive change in the production estimate in relation to the previous year: herbaceous cotton seed (26.4%), 2^nd harvest peanuts in husk (25.4%) oats in grain (23.8%), 1^st harvest potatoes (16.9%), 3^rd harvest potatoes (0.4%), sugarcane (7.9%), onions (2.5%), barley in grain (20.8%), 1^st harvest beans in grain (33.6%), 3^rd harvest beans in grain (15.7%), 2^nd harvest corn in grain (24.6%), soybeans in grain (8.6%), wheat in grain (39.6%) and triticale (14.7%).

The highlights, with negative change in relation to production in 2006, are: 1^st harvest peanuts in husk (10.0%), rice in husk (3.8%), 2^nd harvest potatoes (2.5%), cacao beans (2.4%), coffee in grain (13.2%), 2^nd harvest beans (8.3%), oranges (1.0%) and sorghum in grain (8.5%).   

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¹Monthly survey of estimate and monitoring of the harvest of the main agricultural products, whose data are obtained from the monitoring of the harvests of the main agricultural products. The survey data come from the Municipal and/or Regional Commissions; consolidated at state level by the Monitoring Groups of Agricultural Statistics and, later, nationally evaluated by the Special commission on Planning, Control and Evaluation of Agricultural Statistics (CEPAGRO). The commission is  formed by representatives of IBGE and of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA).

²Cotton seed, peanuts rice beans castor beans corn, soybeans, oats, rye barley, sunflower seeds, sorghum, wheat and triticale.