Commodities Shuttle: Free soy pays up to R$50 more per bag

Conventional soy has historic awards. 2022 was a very positive year for producers, but 2023 could be even better.

In this harvest, the country planted the smallest GM-free soybean in history, just 800,000 hectares, but trading prices are at record levels.

On average, the bag is being marketed at US$ 6 to US$ 7 per bag above genetically modified soybeans.

These amounts are practically guaranteed for the next harvest as well, but there are already contracts being signed with a premium of up to US$ 10 (R$ 50), depending on the volume and logistics.

Eduardo Vaz, executive coordinator of Instituto Soja Livre, says that the net profitability of conventional soy reached R$ 2,667 per hectare in the 2021/22 harvest, a value R$ 1,110 higher than that of transgenic.

The good prices this year are offsetting the lower productivity than that obtained by the genetically modified 3.75 bags and the 3% higher cost.

Conventional soy production was 2.75 million tons. The total soybean area in the country, including conventional and genetically modified ones, exceeded 40 million hectares in this harvest, with production of 123 million tons.

Mato Grosso accounts for 45% of the area sown with conventional soybeans. Paraná, Goiás and Minas Gerais come next. Together, the four states represent 90% of the Brazilian conventional soy area.

Premiums are high due to product reduction in this crop. In addition to the smaller area, there was drought and crop failure in several regions of the country. This comes at a time when demand for plant-based protein foods is growing. In addition, there is greater demand from industries, according to Rodrigo Brogin, a researcher at Embrapa Soja and member of the fiscal council of Instituto Soja Livre.

Vaz and Brogin believe in the evolution of the planted area in 2022/23. Demand is heated, the costs of chemical inputs are high and the profitability of conventional soybeans is attractive.

But there is a bottleneck: the availability of seed. For Vaz, there is at least enough volume for this year’s area maintenance. He hopes, however, that Mato Grosso manages to increase the area by 15%.

Although conventional soy is a niche market, with Europe being the main market, the producer easily changes the production key and should opt more for conventional soy, says Vaz.

For Brogin, Instituto Soja Livre, created by Embrapa and Aprosoja/MT in 2017, has the exact function of adapting to the needs of producers.

For 12 years, Embrapa has been improving and adapting conventional cultivars, which had lower yields and longer harvest periods.

Today, conventional varieties compete with genetically modified ones, according to the researcher. In addition to placing early varieties on the market, Embrapa takes care of the health, yield and adaptation of the cultivars.

An important role of Instituto Soja Livre is also to disseminate information, both for domestic producers and for the foreign market. For this one, it is necessary to show that the country still has potential for conventional soy, says Brogin.

The institute also forms a bridge between producers and seed companies, so that there is a guarantee of seed supply according to the interests of the farmer.

The Embrapa researcher believes that, with the entry of large trading companies in this market, and Brazil being a good option for conventional soy, the market will grow.

Science… The results of scientific research focused on agriculture are already closer to the countryside, according to Alexandre Nepomuceno, head of Embrapa Soja.

… and costs The expenses to turn these innovations into tangible costs, however, are still far from the field, according to Hugo Molinari, from Semper AgTech.

hand in pocket Nepomuceno says that the producer has to believe in the advantages of these developments and support them, although the result of a genetic research is longer than that of digital agriculture.

hand in pocket 2 For Molinari, the producer looks like he has a scorpion in his pocket. We need to participate more in this evolution. But things are already much better, in terms of costs, than they were a few years ago, he says.

Fertility At the 9th Soy Congress, which is being held in Foz do Iguaçu, Embrapa launched the Afere platform, which provides information to improve efficiency on soil fertility management and plant fertilization.

fertility 2 Afere will carry out calculations of the fertilizer balance, enabling management with replacement or restitution of nutrients in soybean production systems. The platform can be accessed at www.embrapa.br/soja/afere.