Curitiba, March 4, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Paraná is expected to harvest a million tons fewer soybeans this year than last, as a result of the drought that is afflicting the state. This is the forecast made by the Secretariat of Agriculture. According to the head of the Secretariat's Department of Rural Economy (Deraf), Norberto Ortigara, this reduction should cause farmers to lose around R$ 780 million. Their expectation was to harvest 11.890 million tons.

After the calculations are revised, this figure falls to 10.950 million tons. Paraná is the second largest producer of soybeans in the country. The drought also affects cotton and corn crops. With cotton, 10% of the production, which is in the collection period, has already been lost. The harvest, which should have been 103 thousand tons, is not expected to surpass 95 thousand. Grain production in the state should end up at around 28.5 million tons. (DAS)