OREANDA-NEWS. February 16, 2015. Brazil's 2014-15 soybean crop is now 38 percent sold, up from 32 percent a month ago, but well behind the 58 percent sold at this time last year, local analysts Safras e Mercado said on Friday.

Safras expects a record 95-million-tonne crop, one of the highest estimates among private analysts.

The average pace for sales this time of year is 54 percent, Safras added.

The analyst did not explain in its monthly report why sales this year were lagging, though others say farmers are reluctant to sell their crop due to lower prices amid plentiful supplies in the United States and South America.

Harvesting, as well as sales, is falling behind for the 2014-15 crop.

Mato Grosso state's farm institute Imea said on Friday that harvesting in Brazil's top soy producing state is 25 percent complete, up 8 percent from last week, but still behind the 36.4 percent average.

Delayed soy harvesting is preventing farmers in Mato Grosso from planting corn.

Only 23.3 percent of the state's corn crop has been planted, down sharply from 45.9 percent a year ago, Imea said.

Brazil's government crop supply agency Conab on Friday raised its forecast for the country's first corn crop now being harvested in the far south and cut its forecast for the second crop being planted in states like Mato Grosso.