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Brazil's agricultural harvest in 2004 was 3.7% lower than in 2003. National production of cereals, legumes, and grains amounted to 119,087 million tons, as against 122,632 million tons in 2003.
This result, announced January 27 by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), incorporating the final data for December, is considered good and was directly affected by climatic factors.
For the IBGE's coordinator of Agriculture and Livestock, Carlos Alberto Lauria, the drought in southern Brazil, especially in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, had a decisive influence in the decline in soybean production.
Raw herbaceous cotton, on the other hand, was the year's standout, with a production increase of 62%, followed by unpolished rice (28.51%) and sorghum grains (21.68%).
Beans, corn kernels, and wheat exhibited lower production volumes.
2004/2005
Brazil's harvest in 2004/2005 should attain 131.9 million tons of grain, according to the National Supply Company (Conab).
This volume represents a 10.7% increase compared with the 2003/2004 harvest, which came to 119.1 tons.
The cultivated area increased from last season's 47.3 million hectares to 48.3 million hectares.
According to Conab president Carlos Guedes Pinto, the increase was due mainly to the soybean crop, which expanded 1 million hectares in the area under cultivation.
Despite the drop in international market prices of some commodities, Guedes expects that the export volume of the coming harvest will be maintained.
"In general terms, the revenues generated by agricutlure next year will be similar to 2003/2004," he said.
He recalled that Brazil's agricultural trade surplus amounts to US$ 30 billion, nearly identical to the country's trade surplus this year, estimated at US$ 32 billion.
Translation: David Silberstein
Agência Brasil
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