Brazil wheat planting in RS reaches 91% of acreage, above historical average

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Wheat planting in Rio Grande do Sul this week reached 91% of areas estimated for the 2021 crop, up 16 percentage points over the past week and exceeding the historical average for the period, said the Brazilian Agricultural Research Agency (EMATER-RS) on Thursday.

According to the entity’s report, the average for the past five harvests for this date is 87%.

Yet the pace of current sowing is below that recorded in the past season, when it reached 94% at this time. “The area forecast for this harvest is 1.12 million hectares, with an increase in the area forecast in the Bagé region, where implementation occurs later,” EMATER-RS technicians said.

All planted areas are in germination/vegetative development.

Among the main producing locations in the state, EMATER-RS highlighted that work in the region of Ijuí, responsible for 27% of the wheat area in Rio Grande do Sul, has now reached more than 90% of the forecast.

“The week began with high humidity in the soil, hindering sowing. As of Wednesday afternoon, even with soil humidity above the ideal, the crop’s planting operations were slowly resumed and intensified as of Friday,” the report stated.

Accounting for 23.1% of wheat area in the state, planting during the week occurred in the region of Santa Rosa, bringing the percentage sown to 96%, the entity linked to the Rio Grande do Sul government added.

Brazil’s second-largest wheat producer, Rio Grande do Sul should harvest 2.89 million tons of grain this year, up 37.8% year-on-year, according to estimates published by EMATER-RS late last month. The agency sees a crop driven by the increase in cultivated area amid attractive prices.