BRAZIL (18 September)
Harvest of the 2003 wheat crop continues in the main southern producing states of Parana and Rio Grande do Sul. A bumper crop of something over 5 million tonnes is officially forecast, largely the result of favourable weather conditions. This compares to the above-average 2.9 million tonnes harvested in 2002. Improved technology and a more intensive use of fertilizers have also been important in the anticipated success of the crop. The increase in production should help reduce the country’s reliance on wheat imports, which are estimated at about 7 million tonnes per year on the average. Production in 2003 is likely to cover half of the country’s yearly wheat utilization requirement, and imports in marketing year 2003/04 (October/September) should considerably decline from the level of 6.8 million tonnes imported in 2002/03. Harvesting of the 2003 second season maize crop (zafrihna) has been recently completed, and a record second-season crop of 12.6 million tonnes has been obtained, thus making maize output for the year (both crops) a historical record at 47.3 million tonnes. Maize exports in marketing year 2003/04 (April/March) should considerably increase over last year’s levels, and exports of some 5.5 million tonnes are presently forecast.