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PT_BR 
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Mato Grosso, Brazil's largest soybean producer, is expected to increase the area planted with the oilseed by 1.67% in the next harvest (2025/26), with farmers showing some caution in expanding their crops, the Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea) said.
In its first estimate for the new harvest, which will only be planted from mid-September, Imea indicated a planting of 13 million hectares in Mato Grosso, which would be a new record.
“This initial projection reflects producers’ caution regarding more robust investments in the crop, due to the increase in production costs,” said the institute, citing that the latest cost estimate indicated an increase of 3.75% compared to the 2024/25 harvest.
“In addition, although soybean prices are higher this season compared to the previous one, the producers’ net margin (EBITDA) is still lower, which limits the investment capacity in the current cycle,” he highlighted.
Adopting a “conservative” stance on average productivity, after a record in 2024/25, Imea projects a reduction of 8.8% in 2025/26 in the annual comparison, to 60.45 bags per hectare.
Imea explained that this is due to several factors that can impact productivity and that are still undefined, such as climate conditions, the occurrence of pests and diseases, and uncertainties regarding investments.
Therefore, the average productivity of the last three years was used.
Based on preliminary projections of area and productivity, soybean production in Mato Grosso for the 2025/26 harvest is estimated at 47.18 million tons, which would be a decrease of 7.29% compared to the previous harvest, which reached a historic high of almost 51 million tons.
The first estimate for the 2025/26 season was based on a survey carried out with market agents and producers who responded to a survey, according to Imea.
(By Roberto Samora)
