Heavy rains will only return to the country's soybean-growing areas in January.

REUTERS - After a period of heat and little rain in most of Brazil's soybean-producing areas, rainfall is expected to return in early January with greater intensity in Paraná and the Southeast and Midwest regions, as well as Tocantins, Maranhão, and Pará, Somar Meteorologia predicted on Wednesday.

While the low rainfall this week should benefit producers with soybeans ready for harvest, the rains forecast for early January should help the development of crops that still need moisture to achieve good yields.

In general, the soybean harvest, Brazil's main export product, is starting earlier this year in the country.

A report by Somar had previously pointed out discrepancies between meteorological models. While the Brazilian CPTEC-INPE indicated a return of rain to central and northern Brazil after January 5th, the American GFS simulation maintained the pattern of rain only over the South.

Somar also points out that, for the first ten days of January, rain will return to western Bahia, but with low accumulated volume. In Rio Grande do Sul, during the same period, the rain will not stop completely, but will weaken.

In the coming days, rainfall will be light in most soybean-producing regions, according to Somar.

"The accumulated rainfall exceeds 30 millimeters in just five days in Rio Grande do Sul, on the border of the three Central-West states, and in the Bico de Papagaio region, in northern Tocantins."