Corn harvest in Mato Grosso has reached 80% of the area and should be completed by the first half of August.

The harvest of the second corn crop of 2025/26 in Mato Grosso has entered its final stretch. According to the Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea), about 80% of the crops had already been harvested by this Thursday (23). If the pace of work is maintained, the expectation is that the removal of the grains will be completed between the first and second week of August. According to the market intelligence coordinator of Imea, Rodrigo Silva, the progress of the harvest is close to the historical average and should gain intensity in the coming days. “The 2025/26 corn crop is in the final stretch of harvesting. Our indicators already show progress close to 80% and, throughout this week, we should observe more significant increases,” he says. In this crop, productivity already exceeds 128.64 sacks per hectare, and as Rodrigo points out, this is a new record for Mato Grosso. “Last season, the yield was 127 sacks per hectare. And now we have mapped out that this number will be surpassed, after more than 800 evaluations carried out in 82 municipalities by the Imea in the Field project,” he stated. The most recent estimate from Imea in the Field, released on July 13th, points to a state corn production of 57.06 million tons, a volume 2.92% higher than that recorded in the 2024/25 season. According to Imea, the result reflects the expansion of the cultivated area and the favorable climatic conditions during the development of the crops in most of the state.

Value of production vs. cost of production

With the prospect of a record harvest, the Gross Production Value (VBP) of corn was also revised upwards by Imea. In the third estimate released in July, the institute projected the VBP of the cereal at R$ 42.27 billion this year, an increase of almost 8% compared to 2025. With this performance, corn now accounts for 25.74% of the R$ 164.22 billion estimated for the Gross Production Value of Mato Grosso's agriculture. According to Imea's weekly bulletin this week, the result is supported by the average price projected for the 2025/26 harvest, which remains above that recorded in the previous season, even in the face of pressure exerted by high supply. The Agricultural Production Cost Project (CPA MT), carried out by Imea in partnership with the National Rural Learning Service (Senar MT), also recorded a reduction in part of the production costs for the next corn harvest. In June, expenses for fertilizers and soil amendments decreased by 2.38%, estimated at R$ 1,532.66 per hectare. This movement was favored by the normalization of logistics in the Middle East, which allowed the resumption of exports and improved negotiating conditions for buyers, putting downward pressure on the prices of these inputs. Spending on pesticides also showed a slight decrease of 0.32%, reaching R$ 913.04 per hectare. Meanwhile, the cost of seeds increased by 0.95%, reaching R$ 848.78 per hectare, limiting a more significant reduction in total costs, estimated at R$ 3,767.37 per hectare. Therefore, the Effective Operating Cost (EOC) was projected at R$ 5,493.40 per hectare and the Total Operating Cost (TOC) at R$ 6,057.70 per hectare, both showing a decrease of approximately 0.6% compared to the previous month. As pointed out by Imea, considering the estimated productivity of 128.64 sacks per hectare, the producer will need to sell the corn at a minimum of R$ 42.70 per sack to cover the EOC and R$ 47.09 per sack to cover the TOC. The projected average price for the 2026/27 crop is R$ 44.76 per sack, sufficient to exceed the EOC breakeven point, but still below what is needed to fully cover the TOC.

This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.