Brazil's Agriculture Ministry pegged the country's soybean crop at 56.1-58.02 million metric tons, versus the 60-million ton estimate recently issued by USDA. Soybean crop area for 2003-04 is projected to rise 8.5-12.2% to 20.05-20.73 million hectares (49.5-51.2 million acres) from 18.47 million hectares (45.6 million acres) last year, according to The Brock Report.