IBGE indicates that Brazil should have a record harvest of 239.8 million tons in 2019

According to the IBGE Systematic Survey on Agricultural Production, the August estimate for the 2019 crop points to a new record in grain production in Brazil. If the forecast of 239.8 million tons of grain is confirmed, it will exceed by 1.4 million tons the record obtained for the 2017 harvest. In 2018, production was 226.5 million tons.

The expectation of a larger harvest of second-crop corn increased the forecast for the national grain crop in 2019.

Brazil is expected to produce 7.2 million tonnes of winter cereals this year, with 80.8% of this total wheat (5.8 million tonnes). Oats account for 13.7% (985.6 thousand tons), and barley 5.5% (391.6 thousand tons).

Brazilian agricultural production value hits record: R$ 343.5 billion

According to the Municipal Agricultural Survey (PAM) 2018, released today by IBGE, the value of Brazilian agricultural production hit a record and reached R $ 343.5 billion in 2018, an increase of 8.3% compared to 2017.

Growth was driven by higher commodity prices such as soybeans (13.6%), cotton (52.3%) and coffee (22%), in a year when the grain crop fell 4.7% and the harvested area 0.5%. Despite the favorable results, the 2017 grain surplus was not exceeded in 2018, mainly due to the 16% decrease in Brazil's corn production.

According to the IBGE, "trade disputes between the United States and China, crop failures in Argentina and Chinese demand for herbaceous cotton have boosted the prices of major Brazilian commodities".

Sao Paulo, Mato Grosso, and Paraná were the states with the highest value of agricultural production in 2018 in Brazil.

Brazilian farmers are exempt from paying R$ 40 billion in taxes

The Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) will not be charged to farmers by the Brazilian state governments. The measure will help contain the rise in food prices, but it will also cost about R$40 billion reais to the public safes.

The problem is that many state governments are broken. The worst cases are  Rio de Janeiro, the Rio Grande do Sul, Minas Gerais, Roraima, Rio Grande do Norte, and Mato Grosso, which have already declared a state of public calamity in the financial sphere.

Therefore, on the one hand, the measure that helps farmers and secure food prices in the short term will make even worse the financial situation of states facing a calamity situation in the public accounts in the long run.