Jul 09, 2025
2024/25 Brazil Corn 132.0 Million Tons, Lack of Storage Worries
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Brazilian farmers have harvested 28% of their safrinha corn compared to 63% last year. This represents an advance of 10% for the week. Mato Grosso is 40% harvested compared to 76% last year. Yields in Parana and Mato Grosso do Sul are better than expected. High grain moisture has kept the harvest progress slower than normal.
With the safrinha corn harvest underway, piles of "open-air" corn are starting to appear across central Brazil and especially in Mato Grosso. These piles are a symptom of the lack of storage space, which is a chronic problem in Brazil.
The storage problem is particularly acute in the state of Mato Grosso. According to Conab, the state has a static storage capacity of 52.32 million tons, an increase of 0.96% compared to the 2023/24 harvest. Gran production in the state could reach 101.27 million tons in 2024/25 (soybeans and corn), an increase of 17.9%. This mismatch between production and infrastructure results in a projected deficit of 48.9 million tons, an increase of 43% compared to the deficit recorded in the past harvest.
The government has tried to address the lack of grain storage by offering construction loans at reduced interest rates, but storage construction cannot keep pace with the increased grain production. In the 2025/26 Harvest Plan released last week, the interest rate on grain storage construction is a prohibitive 8.5%. At that rate, most farmers cannot afford to build on-farm storage, especially with low commodity prices. As a reference, the Selic, which is Brazil's prime rate, is 15%.
Instead, farmers are forced to sell at harvest-low prices, which are currently in the range of R$ 40.00 per sack in Mato Grosso (approximately $3.30 per bushel) or invest in silo bags. Even commercial grain companies are reluctant to build grain storage facilities at interest rates of 15% or more.
Below is an open-air pile of corn at the Rondonopolis Grain Terminal in southeastern Mato Grosso.
Pile of "open-air" corn in Rondonopolis, Mato Grosso.