The national harvest of cereal, legumes and oilseeds (cotton seed, peanut, rice, beans, castor beans, corn, soybean, oat, rye, barley, sunflower, sorghum, wheat and triticale) registered a production of 159.4 million tons, 6.6% higher than the record harvest in 2010 (149.7 million tons) and 0.3% higher than the estimate of August.

These results are presented in the ninth estimate of the Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production (LSPA)in 2011.

 The area to be harvested in 2011, of 48.6 million hectares, shows an increase of 4.5%, against the harvested area in 2010. The three main crops (rice, corn and soybean), which altogether cover 90.5% of the volume of the production of cereals, legumes and oilseeds, account for 82.5% of the area to be harvested. Their changes in relation to the previous year are of +1.6%, +3.5% and 3.3%, respectively. As to production, the increases were, respectively, +19.0%, +0.3% and +9.2%. The complete publication can be accessed at https://www.ibge.gov.br/english/estatistica/indicadores/agropecuaria/lspa/default.shtm

Among the Major Regions, the volume of production of cereals, legumes and oilseeds presents the following distribution:

South, 66.8 million tons; Central West, 55.8 million tons; Southeast, 17.2 million tons; Northeast, 15.2 million tons; and North, 4.4 million tons. Compared with the previous year, rises in all regions can be observed: North, 9.3%; Northeast, 29.0%, Southeast, 1.0%, South, 4.0% and Central West, 6.3%. Paraná and Mato Grosso, in this 2011 evaluation, present the same contribution to the national production of grains, 19.6%. In absolute terms, Parana’s harvest occupies the 1^st position, with 31,285,893 t, a difference of 57,636 tons in relation to Mato Grosso.

September estimate in relation to the production of 2010

 Among the 25 products selected, 14 presented positive changes in the production estimate in relation to the previous year:

herbaceous raw cotton (73.1%), peanut in the shell 1st harvest (25.9%), paddy rice (19.0%), potato 1st harvest (13.5%), potato 3rd harvest (0.2%), cacao nut (5.7%), barley in grain (6.2%), beans in grain 1st harvest (28.2%), castor beans (38.9%), cassava (7.3%), corn in grain 1st harvest (3.4%), soybean in grain (9.2%), sorghum in grain (28.2%) and triticale in grain (24.5%). Recording a negative change: peanut in the shell 2nd harvest (37.9%), oats in grain (11.9%), potatoes 2nd harvest (1.2%), coffee in grain (7.2%), sugarcane (5.4%), onions (5.3%), beans in grain 2nd harvest (0.7%), beans in grain 3rd harvest (7.3%), oranges (1.6%), 2nd harvest of corn in grain (4.3%) and wheat in grain (15.7%).

With the harvest of the main summer crops concluded, the next surveys will monitor the development of the winter and third-harvest crops, the conclusion of the second harvest of grains and of the other crops considered in the survey, respecting the limits of the reference civil year.

In the next surveys, the main crops for 2012 will also be estimated.

Highlights in the estimate of September against August

 Highlights for the monthly changes:

herbaceous cotton seed (-0.4%), oat in grain (-3.3%), coffee in grain (+0.5%), barley in grain (-0.6%), total beans in grain (-1.0%), corn in grain 2^nd harvest (+2.5%), wheat in grain (-0.1%) and the absolute negative change of soybean in grain of 27,331 tons (-0.0%).

Herbaceous cotton seed – The ninth estimate of herbaceous cotton for 2011 was of 5.1 million tons, 0.4% lower than in August. That contraction is the result of the 0.5% contraction of the average yield. Conversely, the area grows 0.1%. Mato Grosso, the largest producer, with a contribution of 50.1% to the national production, was responsible for the alteration in the national harvest figures. In this State, although the harvested area registered a slight increase of 0.1%, the production dropped 0.9%. That fact is attributable to the damages of the drought, which affected the late plantings and, consequently, the final production, which contracted 1.0%.

Coffee (in grain) – In the September survey, the production estimate of 2,667,776 tons (44.5 million 60-kg sacks) recorded a rise of 0.5% in relation to August.

The other variables also recorded increases. The total area and the area reserved to harvest grew 0.1% and the average yield, 0.4% in relation to the previous estimate. Minas Gerais, the largest producer, recorded an increase of 1.0% in the production expected for 2011, totaling 1,323,622 tons (22.1 million 60-kg sacks). Considering both species (arabica and canephora), the production accounted for 49.6% of the total expected for the country in 2011. The area to be harvested was re-estimated at 1,027,872 ha. The yield, typical of an off year, increased by 0.9% against August, after a data revision in Mutum (in the region of Rio Doce), in some municipalities of Alto Paranaíba and of the area of Zona da Mata. It can be observed that the two-year production cycle has been decreasing throughout the years due to the lack of frosts, which always "leveled" the crops, and also due to the different techniques in handling the plots of coffee: higher density, irrigation, planting of rust-resistant coffee varieties, pruning, among others. Espírito Santo, the second biggest coffee producer of the country, saw no changes over the previous month. The state presents the predominance of the canephora species (conilon and clones). Since the end of 2010, the weather conditions have been fairly favorable, and the total production of the state (arabica + conilon) is estimated at 708,417 tons (11.8 million sacks), a result of the average yield of 24.2 sacks/ha (1452 kg/ha), the highest of the country (the two species considered altogether). 

Beans (in grain) Total - The national production, considering the three harvests, was evaluated at 3,588,575 tons, 1.0% lower than the previous month, and is distributed as follows: 1,953,066 tons of the 1st harvest (54.4%), 1,196,550 tons of the 2nd harvest (33.3%) and 438,959 tons of the 3rd harvest (12.3%). Compared with the past month, the production of the 1st and 2nd harvests of beans registered decreases of 0.1% and 3.0%, respectively, whereas the 3rd harvest recorded an increase of 0.8%. The inexpressive decrease in the production of the 1st harvest of beans was due to the changes in the data of harvest, which is conluded in almost all the country. As to the second harvest, the reduction in production, in relation to the previous month, was driven mainly by the information revisions conducted in Bahia, where drought affected the crops. Compared with August, the harvested area and the production are lower in 34.3%, 21.2%, respectively. With the losses, the state dropped from the second position in production to the fourth place. As for the third harvest, the rise in production was largely a result of the revisions of the data from Minas Gerais, where new crops in São Romão (North) were identified, leading to a rise in production (1.0%). The same happened in Mato Grosso (4.2%). 

Corn (in grain) Total – The national production in 2011, for both harvests, totaled 56.2 million tons, a positive change of 1.0% against August. This change was caused by the alterations in the second harvest data. The first harvest, already reaped in the main producing centers, registered a decrease of only 3316 tons (-0.0%) against the information of August, totaling 34.2 million tons in the evaluation of September. The expected production for the 2nd harvest, of 22.0 million tons, presented a gain of 2.5% compared with the estimate of August. Paraná, the second national producer, was the main responsible for that increase, readjusting the production in 9.1%, now estimated at 6.0 million tons. That fact is the result of a better evaluation of the situation of the product, considering the damages caused by the frosts from June 27 to 28 were not as hard as the anticipated scenario. It is important to mention that, were it not for the losses in Bahia, as a result of drought conditions, the national production could have a higher gain. In this state, the expected production of 299,841 tons is 17.3% lower than that of the past month, due to the reduction of 30.5% in the area to be harvested, with a loss of 122,080 ha planted.

Soybean (in grain) – The expected record production of 74.8 million tons was only 27,331 tons lower than that of August. Except for Maranhão, the harvest is concluded in the other producing centers and the change is mainly due to the revisions of the harvest data from Mato Grosso, the largest national producer. In this state, the harvested area of 6,454,331 ha and the production of 20,800,544 tons are 0.1% lower in comparison with the past month. 

Winter Cereals (in grain) – Winter crops, mainly concentrated in the states of the South of the country, recorded contractions for oat (3.3%), barley (0.6%) and wheat (0.1%). Concerning wheat, the most important crop, the expected production of 5.1 million tons informed in September is 0.1% lower than that in the last month. As in the previous month, the decrease reflects the new evaluations of the state of Paraná, the largest producer of wheat, contributing with 46.9% of the national production. In this state, the field information suggests a planted area 0.1% greater than what was anticipated by the previous evaluation, now estimated at 1,024,462 ha. However, it also suggests an area to be harvested of 993,447 ha, which means a loss of 31,015 ha due to the frosts. The excess of rains in July caused diseases (notoriously, wheat blast and FHB) and difficulties for machines to enter the crops for sanitary control. As a result, the expected average yield, estimated at 2,403 kg/ha, is 4.5% lower than what was informed the past month. Consequently, the estimated production of 2.4 million tons is 4.0% lower. The drop in the wheat harvest was offset by the gain of 4.4% in the production of Rio Grande do Sul, the second national producer.

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).

To address the needs of users of harvest data, the surveys relative to Cereals, Legumes and Oilseeds have been conducted in close partnership with the National Supply Agency (Conab) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) as a sequence to a process of harmonization of official harvest estimates for the main Brazilian crops, which started in October of 2007.