Inor Ag. Assmann 102
Mouthwatering Ibrafe is expecting high farm gate prices for black-beans in <strong>2011</strong> The market of black-beans in Brazil is expected to continue picking up steam throughout <strong>2011</strong>. Farm gate prices, which were lagging behind during the first two months, with a 60-kg sack fetching from R$ 55 to R$ 60, reacted in March, when the price for the highly valued grains outstripped the minimum price stipulated by the federal government – R$ 80 a sack. The scenario is described by market analyst Marcelo Lüders, president of the Administrative Council of the Brazilian Black- Beans Institute (Ibrafe). According to him, by virtue of the drought conditions, plantings suffered a two-month delay in some states, taking place only in October 2010. “At planting time, the cereal had to compete with corn and soybean, highly valued at that time”, he points out. In his estimation, the planted area receded about 5%. The National Supply Company (Conab), however, refers to a 2.1-percent rise in the planted area for the summer crop. The credit seems to go to the good prices fetched by the cereal in 2010. Figures from the seventh grain survey, of April <strong>2011</strong>, point to area increases in all black-bean growing States, with the exception of São Paulo and Rio Grande <strong>do</strong> Sul. The size of this crop is estimated at 1.68 million tons, up 15% from the previous one. In the words of the Ibrafe official, the delay in the first crop also caused a delay to the second. “In January, when the time had come for the growers to decide about the second crop, black-beans were remunerating poorly”, Lüders observes. He recalls that all other commodities were fetching good prices, a fact that certainly had an influence when it came to deciding which crop to grow. As things are now, he believes in soaring remunerating farm gate prices over the entire year. In his opinion, the Conab officials are overestimating the planted area. GRãO pOpULAR • POPULAR KERNEL Produção brasileira de feijão Safra 2010/11 Área (mil ha) Produção (mil t) Produtividade (kg/ha) 1ª safra 1.439,2 1.682,1 1.169 2ª safra 1.753,3 1.315,7 750 3ª safra 788,6 805,7 1.022 Total 3.885,3w 3.713,4 956 Safra 2009/10 Área (mil ha) Produção (mil t) Produtividade (kg/ha) 1ª safra 1.410,1 1.463,1 1.037 2ª safra 1.444,9 1.022,8 708 3ª safra 753,8 836,6 1.110 Total 3.608,8 3.322,5 921 Fonte: Conab PRODUCTION IS BOUND TO GO UP BOTH IN THE SUMMER AND WINTER CROP The state corporation estimates the second crop at 1.75 million hectares, up 21.30% from the same period last year. As most cultivations are located in the North and Northeast regions, where <strong>do</strong>ublecropping systems prevail, average yields are very low – 750 kilos per hectare. As a result, the crop should reach 1.32 million tons, up 28.6% from the same period last year. For the third black-bean crop, Conab foresees a repeat of last year’s figures, with yields of 1,014 kg/ha, average of the past five years. This leads us to believe in a 4.6-percent rise in planted area, totaling 788.6 thousand hectares, <strong>do</strong>wn 3.9% from last year, with a crop totaling 805.7 thousand tons. 103