Amid languishing international demand, overproduction has pushed soybean prices into the dirt. Prices at the Chicago Board of Trade recently dropped past 27-year lows before drought stirred a partial comeback. Although the economic crisis in Southeast Asia shares the blame, several consecutive years of big crops in North and South America contributed substantially to the price-depressing glut. The U.S. is perennially the world's dominant producer, and at 75 million metric tons, was dominant again last year. However, growth in output has been especially dynamic in Brazil.
Continued advances appear to be imminent.
Of course, the extent and speed of any increase are uncertain. Brazilian farmers don't get subsidies, he said. It's a huge area, encompassing more than 500 million acres. Some of the land is already planted to grain and oilseeds or used for forestry and pastures. However, both indicated that the numbers could be significant.