SAO PAULO, Jan 15 Reuters Brazilian planemaker Embraer expects its agricultural aircraft Ipanema to hit record deliveries this year after a positive 2023 driven by the strength of the country39;s farm sector, it told Reuters on Monday.

Used in cropdusting activities, the plane is popular among farmers in Brazil, a top global producer of soybeans, corn, sugarcane and coffee, where more than 300 million metric tons of grains are forecast to be harvested in 202324.

Deliveries of the Ipanema aircraft are projected to reach 70 units in 2024, Embraer said in a statement, up from 65 last year and eclipsing the record of 67 delivered in 2011.

That level would keep the plane39;s strong market momentum after continuous growth in both sales and deliveries since 2020, when the company launched the current EMB203 version of the aircraft, which runs on ethanol.

Each Ipanema plane is sold for a list price of 3.6 million reais 741,412, according to Embraer.

Deliveries are seen hitting an alltime high in 2024 after a record sales year for the aircraft, the planemaker said, noting that orders in 2023 totaled 70 units, up from 66 in the previous year.

Agribusiness has a significant impact on Brazil39;s gross domestic product and we are very pleased to see how the Ipanema has contributed to its high productivity, said Sany Onofre, who manages the Brazilian planemaker39;s Ipanema program.

Agribusiness accounts for roughly a quarter of Brazil39;s GDP and helped it overshoot market…