Paraná projects growth in soybean and corn in the 2025/26 harvest

The first Subjective Harvest Forecast for the 2025/26 Paraná harvest, released this Thursday (28) by the Department of Rural Economy (Deral), of the State Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply (Seab), points to an increase in area and production in soybeans and corn, the main crops of the period.

For soybeans, the initial forecast is that 5.79 million hectares will be planted, representing an increase of 0.6% over the 5.75 million hectares of the previous cycle. "Normally, the latest crop starts always have a small gain in area, usually in pasture, but this year there was a slight gain in beans as well," said technician Edmar Gervásio, a crop analyst at Deral.

The area planted in the first harvest represents more than 90% of the main grains produced in Paraná. Production could reach 22.05 million tons, an increase of 4.23% over the 21.1 million tons of the last harvest. "As the harvest progresses, there may be positive or negative surprises," Gervásio pondered.

Soybean emergence in Region 2, which covers the North, Northwest, Central-West, and West regions of the state, will be permitted starting September 1st, when the Asian rust outbreak ends in that region. Planting must be completed by December 31st.

In Region 3, where the municipalities of the Southwest are located, sowing is authorized from September 11th,

extending until January 10, 2026. Region 1, which covers the municipalities of the South, East, Campos Gerais and Coast of Paraná, may have plants emerged from September 20, ending on January 20, 2026.

Corn

For the first corn crop, initial estimates for the 2025/26 cycle point to 3.22 million tons, 5.51 TP4T higher than the 3 million tons for the 2024/25 period. The area is projected to be 12.11 TP4T larger, occupying 315,000 hectares. In the previous cycle, the first crop covered 280,200 hectares. "After a long time, the state has once again gained significant acreage in the first crop, which had been essentially losing ground year after year since 2010," said analyst Edmar Gervásio, adding: "For both soybeans and corn, planting conditions are good, with significant progress expected over the next 15 to 20 days at least."

Bean

With the loss of area to corn and soybeans, the forecast is that the first bean crop in Paraná will occupy 111,000 hectares. If confirmed, this represents a reduction of 34% compared to last year, when the crop was grown on 168,000 hectares. However, it is within the historical level for this harvest. "The significant increase experienced in the 2024/2025 harvest appears to be an exception, driven by the increase in exports, which still need to consolidate themselves as a market option to maintain producer interest," said agronomist Carlos Hugo Godinho.

According to him, productivity is projected at around 2,000 kilograms per hectare, potentially generating a supply of 218,000 tons to be harvested starting in December. Last year's first bean harvest yielded 337,600 tons.

Bulletin

The Agricultural Situation Bulletin for the week of August 22 to 28, in addition to commenting on the first harvest estimates, provides data on other agricultural crops in the State.

The document highlights a 0.59% drop in prices paid to lamb producers in Brazil in July compared to the previous month. In Paraná, live lambs were sold for an average of R$ 14.30 per kilogram, compared to R$ 15.10 in June.

Beef pigs, also covered in the bulletin, were the fifth main product of the Paraná agricultural sector in 2024. With R$ 8.82 billion in Gross Production Value (VBP), the sector showed an increase of 4.3% over the R$ 8.45 billion in 2023. Toledo leads production, with VBP of R$ 1.32 billion, equivalent to 15.2% of the total.

The document also states that Paraná ranked third in honey exports for the first seven months of the year. 4,637 tons were exported abroad, generating foreign exchange revenue of US$15.203 million. In the same period last year, 2,191 tons were exported, generating revenue of US$15.509 million.