EN 
PT_BR 
In February, soybean prices followed the upward trend in Chicago that began in January, but prices fell in the first half of March. In the domestic market, the trend was different from that seen in Chicago, with prices falling in February and, so far, rising in March. With the harvest progressing and productivity above expectations, Conab revised the Brazilian harvest upwards to 167.4 MM t.
Photo: Jaelson Lucas
The February average on the CBOT rose 1.4% over January, to US$ 10.40/bu, due to irregular rainfall in Argentina, which worsened crop conditions in the country. In the first half of March, prices fell 3.5%, to U$D 10.04/bu, due to a combination of large supply from Brazil, the advance of the harvest and US and Chinese tariffs that came into effect. In February, Trump applied tariffs of 10% on all Chinese imports to the United States. In March, he began charging an additional 10 percentage points, raising the tariff to 20% for Chinese products. In response, China announced the imposition of tariffs of 15% on imports of chicken, wheat, corn and cotton from the US and 10% on soybeans and dairy products.
Photo: Disclosure/Embrapa
In February, prices in Sorriso fell 8.7% compared to January, to R$ 106.4/bag, with the more advanced harvest pace. In March, prices in the domestic market have been favored by the appreciation of premiums, which continue to rise with low soybean stocks in China and strong demand. In February, the average premium in Paranaguá was US$c 18/bu, while in the first half of March this average was US$c 56/bu.
In March, Conab revised soybean productivity upwards to 3,527 kg/ha, an increase of 0.8% over the February estimate. The highlight was the upward revision made for the states of the Central-West, Piauí and Tocantins. In the Central-West, productivity in Mato Grosso rose 2.9% and in Goiás, 7.4%, while in Piauí the increase was 4.6% and in Tocantins, 3.4%.
