SAO PAULO, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Steady rains are expected to fall over Brazil's center-west and northeast regions this week, forecaster Somar said on Monday, as farmers plant what is expected to be the country's largest soy crop ever.
A cold front has moved rains northward into Brazil's top soy producing state Mato Grosso after soaking the southern states of Rio Grande do Sul and Parana last month.
"Rains returned to the Northeast and the northern part of the Center-west region," Somar said in a daily report.
Parts of Mato Grosso state, which received below-average rainfall in October, received 56 mm (2.2 inches) of rain on Sunday, Somar said.
The northeast, an emerging soy and corn region, had a prolonged drought this year but it was relieved by 35 mm (1.3 inches) of rain on Sunday.
The bulk of Brazil's soybeans are planted in late October and early November, and some farmers will likely have to replant crops they sowed earlier last month when seeds germinated but shoots could wither due to lack of sufficient moisture.
But analysts are so far maintaining their forecasts for a record crop of around 81 million tonnes, which should allow Brazil to leapfrog the United States in soybean production for the first time to become the world's top grower.
