LatinNews Daily - 11 January 2024

*Brazil’s national statistics institute (Ibge) has released its latest projections for the 2024 harvest of grains, cereals, legumes, and oilseeds, forecasting a total harvest of 306.5m tonnes. This would mark a 2.8% decrease from the 2023 grain harvest. The annual decrease is expected to be mainly driven by the maize and sorghum harvests. The first maize harvest of 2024 is projected to be 3.3% lower than 2023’s first harvest, while an annual drop of 12.8% is expected for 2024’s second harvest. The sorghum harvest this year is forecast to decrease by 12.1%. However, annual increases are expected for the harvests of soya (+1.7%), beans (+4.2%), rice (+1.6%), and wheat (+33.0%). In a press release, Ibge research coordinator Carlos Barradas is cited as explaining that climate problems are expected to shorten the window during which the second maize harvest can be planted, but he also downplayed the significance of a potential year-on-year decrease, as 2023 had set the bar very high, registering record production figures for maize and sorghum.