EN 
PT_BR Brazilian buyers were active in the spot corn market in the first half of March, but reported difficulties in acquiring new lots, due to the low availability of the grain and the higher prices asked by sellers. In addition to limited stocks for this early season and the summer harvest still being at a slow pace, many agents face logistical challenges – the priority at the moment is the delivery of soybeans.
As a result, from February 28 to March 14, the Esalq/BM&FBovespa Corn Indicator (Campinas – SP) advanced 2.7%, closing the interval at R$ 89.83/60 kg bag. The monthly average (partial until the 14th) exceeded that of February by 10%. Among the regions monitored by Cepea, in the balance of the first half of March, prices rose 3.4% in the batch market (negotiation between companies) and 2.6% in the over-the-counter market (value received by the producer).
Regarding initial stocks for the 2024/25 season, data from Conab indicate a volume restricted to 2.04 million tons, lower than the 2.1 million tons indicated in February 2025 and well below the 7.2 million tons of the 2023/24 harvest. The current stock represents only 2.4% of the annual corn consumption by the domestic market, which, in turn, is estimated by Conab at 86.97 million tons in 2024/25. The summer harvest accounted for 40.1% of the area as of March 16, above the 38.5% average for the last five years (2020-2024).
