Cristiane Ribeiro
Reporter - Agencia Brasil

Rio de Janeiro – This year’s national grain production may have a reduction of approximately 5.5% when compared to last year’s, according to information issued this Tuesday (22) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The production of cereals, leguminous and oleaginous plants (cotton seeds, peanuts, rice, beans, castor beans, corn, soy, and wheat) will reach 112.743 million tons, and in 2004, this number was 119.294 million tons.

According to the IBGE, the wheat production had the poorest performance. It dropped 13% in relation to last year, which represents 730 thousand tons. The Institute says that the reduction is due to too much rain in the southern state of Paraná, the main producer of wheat.

Translation: Andréa Alves