Rio, 11/28/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Last year Brazil's champion crop was soybean which replaced the 2001 champion, corn. What happened was that soybean production rose 11%, while corn production fell 14%.

According to the government statistical bureau (IBGE) report on Municipal Farm Produce, the drop in corn production is blamed on a reduced crop area and adverse climatic conditions. It also caused some domestic supply problems resulting in higher costs for pork and poultry because of more expensive feed. (AB)