Soybeans account for more than 40% of agricultural production revenue in Brazil

In a scenario of heated demand and high prices, soy began to account for more than 40% of the value generated by Brazilian agricultural production.

This is what data from the PAM (Municipal Agricultural Production) 2021 survey, released this Thursday (15) by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) indicate.

Last year, the country’s agricultural production totaled R$ 743.3 billion in revenue, in the sum of permanent and temporary crops. The growth was 58.6% compared to 2020 (R$ 468.5 billion) in nominal terms – excluding inflation.

The most recent amount represents a record in the historical series since the creation of the real, in 1994, also in nominal terms, according to IBGE.

The value generated by soy alone reached R$ 341.7 billion in 2021, another maximum in the series and an increase of 102.1% compared to 2020 (R$ 169.1 billion).

With the advance, the share of grain compared to the total revenue of agricultural production jumped to 46% last year. The percentage was 36.1% in 2020. At the beginning of the century, in 2001, it was 20.4%.

“Soybean moved from the third position in the ranking of the highest value of national agricultural production, in the first half of the 1990s, to become the main commodity”, highlights the IBGE study.

According to the institute, the gain from soy reflects investments in research and technology in the fields. These actions would have been translated into an increase in crop productivity over the years, which also started to be stimulated by external demand and high prices.

In 2021, the soybean crop reached 134.9 million tons, an increase of 10.8% compared to the previous year, according to the IBGE.

After soybeans, the largest shares in the total value of Brazilian agricultural production came from corn (15.7%) and sugarcane (10.1%).

The corn crop had a retraction of 14.9% last year, with 88.5 million tons. Even so, the value of the crop’s production rose 60.7%, to R$ 116.4 billion.

The higher revenue, says the IBGE, is associated with the increase in commodity prices, due to the low supply of the product and high exchange rates, which favored exports.

Sugarcane, in turn, grew by 24.4% in value, to R$ 75.3 billion, in 2021. However, there was a 5.3% drop in production, to 715.7 million of tons.

“The year [2021] was marked by climatic instability between autumn and winter, which mainly affected the development of 2nd crop crops in a large part of the national territory. Crops such as corn, sugar cane and coffee showed a significant drop in production. The states of Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul were the most affected”, says the survey.

“However, the main temporary crops with predominance of cultivation in the 1st harvest, such as soybeans and rice, presented good results. Highlight for the state of Rio Grande do Sul, which showed good recovery, after climatic problems faced in the previous year”, added.

MT in the lead

Among the states, Mato Grosso once again registered the highest value of agricultural production last year: R$ 151.7 billion (20.4% of the total). The increase was 91.5% in nominal terms, largely due to soybeans, its main crop.

Then, Rio Grande do Sul reached R$ 90.8 billion (12.2% of the total). The high reached 138.4% compared to 2020.

São Paulo ranked third, with R$ 84.1 billion (11.3% of the total). The value grew by 23.7% compared to the previous year.

Among the municipalities, the leader in agricultural production value, for the third consecutive year, was Sorriso (MT). The local indicator reached R$ 10 billion, an increase of 86.4% compared to 2020. Soy and corn were the crops with the highest value.

Throughout the pandemic, agricultural commodities rose in price with heated demand in the international market. The situation ended up stimulating exports, according to analysts. In the domestic market, the reflex was the increase in the amounts charged for food on supermarket shelves.

Soybean oil, for example, accumulated inflation of 103.79% in 2020 and 4.16% in 2021, according to data from the IPCA (Broad Consumer Price Index), also calculated by the IBGE. Corn in grain, in turn, rose 13.56% in 2020 and 18.61% in 2021.

Refined sugar, on the other hand, accumulated inflation of 12.11% and 47.87% in the same periods. The crystal advanced 25.24% and 37.55%, respectively.