Agribusiness consultancy Safras&Mercado reported that soybean sales of Brazil, the largest supplier of oilseed in the world, have slowed own compared to last year.

The agribusiness consultancy announced that the sale of Brazilian soybeans has completed 35.4% of the estimated production in the 2022/2023 cycle, lower compared to the 48.5% sold last year. The statement reminds that the five-year average for farmer selling in the same period is 51.7%.

The Safras&Mercado’s data indicated that the total amount of soy already traded in is just below 54 million tons, but Brazilian soybean growers may produce an estimated record harvest of 152.43 million tons this year.

Delays in the harvest of this year’s crop and the disruption of field work by rain in some states are two factors that may be causing slow farmer sales in the largest supplier of oilseed in the world. Safras&Mercado did not elaborate on why forward selling of next season’s soybeans are falling behind.

The consulting firm estimates that the soybean crop that Brazilian farmers will plant beginning in September of next year will produce 1.6% of the total volume of production. This is below the 7.1% from March 2022 and the 10.6% five-year average, Safras&Mercado said.