In late April, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) announced a reduction of 3.6 percent in the minimum price of all wheat types for the 2017/18 season. In southern Brazil, which concentrates most of the wheat planted at national level, prices dropped from BRL 21.24 (USD 6.73) per 60-kilo bag in the 2016/17 season to BRL 20.48 (USD 6.49). Planting of the new crop started in some regions in April and early official forecasts point to a decline in plantings, due to less attractive prices and good availabilities from last year’s output.