2025 harvest expected to break records; bottlenecks to be discussed in the Central-West Export

Central-West leads with 51.1% of national production and raises debate on logistical challenges in the region

The Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production (LSPA), released this Thursday (12) by IBGE, indicates that the Brazilian harvest of cereals, legumes and oilseeds should total 332.6 million tons in 2025. The number is 13.6% higher than the harvest obtained in 2024, when it was 292.7 million tons.

The area to be harvested this year should be 81.2 million hectares, which represents a growth of 2.7% compared to last year.

The production estimate showed positive annual variation for all regions of the country: Central-West (17.5%), South (7.6%), Southeast (14.7%), Northeast (8.7%) and North (14.5%).

The State of Mato Grosso leads as the largest national grain producer, with a share of 31.5% in the national harvest, followed by Paraná (13.5%), Goiás (11.6%), Rio Grande do Sul (9.7%), Mato Grosso do Sul (7.6%) and Minas Gerais (5.5%), which, together, represented 79.4% of the total.

As a result, the Central-West region alone accounts for more than half of the cereals, legumes and oilseeds produced in Brazil. However, while recording record harvests and production, the region faces a daily race against logistical bottlenecks that threaten its competitiveness. This issue will be the theme of the next Central-West Export Forum, which will take place in Rondonópolis on June 26 and 27.

The event, organized by Grupo Brasil Export, will bring together authorities, businesspeople and experts to discuss infrastructure, logistics and transportation. Confirmed attendees include Wellington Fagundes, senator and president of the Joint Parliamentary Front for Logistics and Infrastructure (Frenlogi); Jesualdo Silva, president of the Instituto Brasil Logística (IBL); Sérgio Antunes, vice president of the Federation of Industries of the State of Mato Grosso; and Danielle Silva Bernardes, government executive manager of the CNT.

“In Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Goiás, the urgency for efficient grain transportation is driving an unprecedented transformation in infrastructure, where the watchword is intermodality. The solution to transport the riches of the Cerrado inevitably involves strategic integration between highways, railways and waterways,” argues the CEO of Grupo Brasil Export, Fabrício Julião.

For agricultural giants, getting soybean and corn crops from farms to ports at a lower cost is the main challenge. The road-rail combination is emerging as the main vector for this change. Giant terminals such as the one in Rondonópolis (MT), operated by Rumo and considered the largest in Latin America, are concrete proof of this progress.

The company will be present at the panel “Railways in the development of logistics in the Central-West”, along with other important players in the sector.

The panel “Effects of Intermodality on Logistics in the Central-West Region” will discuss the economic and social impacts of the use of railways and waterways. It is estimated that migrating part of the cargo volume to rails will generate savings of up to 30% in freight costs.

A practical example is the cost of transporting a ton of grain from Sorriso (MT) to the ports, which can be US$20 to US$30 cheaper using the railway from Rondonópolis, compared to the route purely by road.

Although developing more slowly, waterways are emerging as strategic alternatives with high capacity and low cost. The Paraguay-Paraná Waterway is an important route for Mato Grosso do Sul, and its potential can be unlocked with the concession process, which entered the public consultation phase in 2025.