SAO PAULO, July 3 (Reuters) - Brazil's second corn crop is expected to hit 102.9 million metric tons in 2023, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said on Monday, increasing its May forecast of 97.9 million metric tons because of favorable weather.
Farmers in the center-south region have harvested through last Thursday 17% of the area planted for their second crop, AgRural added, up 8 percentage points from the previous week although still lagging last year's levels (31%).
"Harvesting progressed well in Mato Grosso, favored by drier weather," AgRural said. "Although there is still a delay in relation to the previous season, yield reports are still excellent."
In spite of being planted outside the ideal climate window this season, production of Brazil's second corn, which is planted after soybeans are sowed in the same fields, will be abundant.
StoneX, another agribusiness consultancy, on Monday raised its own projection for second corn output to 105.2 million metric tons from 102.9 million metric tons seen in its June forecast.
Second corn represents about 75% of Brazil's national corn output in a given year and is mainly exported to various destinations in the second half of the year. (Reporting by Gabriel Araujo and Ana Mano; Editing by Mark Porter and Will Dunham)
