By Ana Mano and Roberto Samora
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Torrential rainfall in Brazil’s second-largest soybean and sixth-largest corn state is disrupting the final stages of the harvest, according to a meteorologist’s bulletin on Thursday, a grains broker and an analyst.
By April 25, 82% of Rio Grande do Sul’s corn area and 66% of the soybean area had been harvested, according to regional crop agency Emater, which did not have an immediate comment on the rains’ potential impact.
“Torrential rains in Rio Grande do Sul have already caused numerous disruptions and losses,” said Marco dos Santos, a Rural Clima meteorologist. Santos cited losses in soybean, corn and rice areas.
The heavy rains, which will continue through the weekend, with a respite between Sunday and Monday, have brought flooding to some grain and urban areas, blocking roads and destroying infrastructure.
A new cold front should bring more rainfall to Rio Grande do Sul starting on May 9, Santos said. He noted that lower amounts of rain are expected when that system forms, but added that any rain on extremely wet soil “is chaos.”
In the south of Rio Grande do Sul, an estimated 40% of the soybean remains to be harvested, the broker said. In the north, around 80% to 90% has been harvested, he added.
Santos said it will continue to rain in much of the northern section of Rio Grande do Sul, as well as the in south of neighboring Santa Catarina.
“These very voluminous rains, with no sunny breaks to harvest (grains), always end up causing quality losses,” said Adriano Gomes, a grains analyst at consultancy AgRural.
Rio Grande do Sul was expected to produce 68% more soybeans this season than last, according to estimates from national crop agency Conab for Brazil’s No.2 producer after Mato Grosso state. Emater projects a record crop of 22.25 million metric tons, up 71.5% from a year ago.
The rains have killed at least 13 people, while 21 are missing, according to local authorities.
On Wednesday, a national holiday in Brazil, the state government warned the situation was critical and could deteriorate further.
