Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for waiting. At this time, we would like to welcome everyone to SLC Agrícola's third quarter 2020 earnings conference call. Today we have with us Mr. Aurélio Pavinato, CEO, and Mr. Ivo Marcon Brum, CFO and Investor Relations Officer. We would like to inform you that this event is being recorded, and all participants will be in a listen-only mode during the company's presentation. After the company's remarks are completed, there will be a question- and- answer session. At that time, further instructions will be given.
Should any participant need assistance during this call, please press star zero to reach the operator. Also, today's live webcast, both audio and slideshow, may be accessed through SLC Agrícola's website at www.slcagricola.com.br in Investor Relations section by clicking on the banner Webcast 3Q 2020. The following presentation is also available to download on the webcast platform.
The following information is available in thousands of Brazilian Real and in IFRS, except when otherwise indicated. Before proceeding, let me mention that forward-looking statements are based on beliefs and assumptions of SLC Agrícola management and on information currently available to the company. They involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions because they relate to the future events and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Investors should understand that general economic conditions, industry conditions, and other operating factors could also affect the future results of the company and could cause results to differ materially from those exposed in such forward-looking statements. Now, I'll turn the conference over to Mr. Aurélio Pavinato, CEO. You may proceed.
Hello. Thank you for participating in SLC Agrícola's earnings conference call for the third quarter of 2020. Let's go to slide three, where I will make brief comments on the recent price movements for our main products. In general, price for cotton, soy, and corn traded upwards over the last few months, which was intensified in the case of Brazil due to the continuous depreciation of the Brazilian Real against the dollar. For the cotton market in specific, the quarter was marked by successive negative revisions on production estimates for countries on the Northern Hemisphere due to unfavorable weather. To that, a scenario of consumption recovery was added.
These factors provide the fundamentals for price recovery, which are currently around the $0.70 per pound level, given that the estimate for surplus between supply and demand was revised downwards again and at the moment points out to only 1.9 million bales according to USDA. Soybean quotations for the spot contract in Chicago and local prices in Brazil also increased along the third quarter of the year. For the current cycle, the 2020/2021 crop year, the supply and demand scenario will present the second consecutive year of deficit at 2 million tons after a deficit of 18 million tons in the previous year.
The recovery in Chinese demand has been a key supporting factor for prices, especially after the previous cycle, which was marked by the trade dispute between China and the U.S. and also by the African swine fever, which contributed to reduce the international prices of the commodity in 2019. In the local market, the maintenance of premiums and the Brazilian Real depreciation enable record prices, and more recently allowed for quotations above BRL 150 per bag based on CEPEA data for Paranaguá port. Corn price in Chicago increased as well during the quarter. In this case, mainly due to the reduction in planted area in the U.S., which due to the climate, in this case, a reflex of storms and dry periods. With that, the final area estimate for the cereal should be 6% lower if compared to the first estimate of the USDA.
In Brazil, the market demonstrates the strong demand during the year via the protein market and also via the export program. Globally, however, the supply and demand scenario is expected to be stable according to the latest figure from USDA, with a small surplus of 2.9 million tons. We can now move on to slide five, where we will discuss our initial estimate for the 2020/ 2021 crop year. The planted area forecasted for the new crop year is of 471.7 thousand hectares, a new record, and posting growth of 5.2% over 2019/ 2020 crop year. The late onset of rains for the Midwestern region this year caused delayed soy planting and consequently a reduction in the planting window for cotton second crop.
With that, part of our second crop area initially planned for cotton was transferred to corn, which has a wider planting window. On slide six, we demonstrate the results of the independent land appraisal for 2020, conducted with Deloitte. In September, the new appraisal was concluded for SLC Agrícola land portfolio, which present a total value of almost BRL 4 billion , an increase of 4.62% in relation to 2019. The average value of the arable hectare is currently at BRL 19.3 thousand per hectare. As expected, the period was marked by the beginning of a land price recovery in the country. I will now hand the call over to Ivo Brum, CFO and IR Officer, for his comments on the financial results for the period.
Hello, everyone. You can move now over to slide eight, where I will comment on the income statement. The net revenue increased 15% in the nine-month period against 2019, and adjusted EBITDA for the year up to September was of BRL 562.3 million , with a margin of 28%. The combination of the weaker Brazilian Real along 2020 and the commodity price recovery over the last few months contributes to achievement of the net profit of BRL 316.8 million , 40% higher than 2019. On slide nine, we highlight the positive free cash flow generation in the quarter at BRL 315.1 million , reflecting the improvement in the cash flow, which is characteristic of the second semester of the year.
With that, on slide 10, we present the net debt position for the company, which closed at third quarter at BRL 1.2 billion, a drop of BRL 234 million over the second quarter, reflecting the positive free cash flow. Net debt-to-EBITDA ratio also dropped to 1.4x . Still on the leverage side, we highlight that the board of directors approved in meeting held on October 5th, the issuance of the agribusiness receivable certificates in the amount of BRL 400 million, with an upper limit of BRL 408 million, having as coordinators the banks Bradesco, Itaú, and Santander. Additionally, we raised funds of BRL 100 million on October 29th from Banco Santander in the first operation with the green bond seal carried out by the company, enabling a differentiated loan rate due to our practices in the environmental management and social responsibility.
To close this section, on slide 11, we present a few details on the payment of interest on capital. Considering the cash generation in the period, as well as the taxable profit, management approved on the previous Friday the payment of BRL 37.1 million as interest on capital to its shareholders. Payment will be made on December 16th with a cut-off date of November 13th. The amount corresponding to the payment of interest on capital will be included in the calculation of the mandatory dividend for the fiscal year 2020, as provided for in the company's bylaw. I will now hand it back over to Pavinato for his final remarks.
Thank you, Ivo. Let's move on to slide 13, where we show the updated hedge position. The significant appreciation prices for all of our main crops allowed for strong advance in our hedging position for 2019/2020/2021, and even 2021/2022 crop years, given that input purchases have started for the next crop. When taking into account costs, dollar prices, and also the current FX level, we expect the good profitability level to be maintained into 2021 crop year. We also foresee an excellent outlook for the 2021/2022 crop year. As a final word, on slide 14, I'd like to acknowledge the creation of SLC Ventures.
Upon the revision of the strategic planning for the year with our directors and managers, which was carried out in digital format, among other deliberations, a plan for investment in new agribusiness with a digital focus was outlined and approved with the board in connection with the new technological trends in course in the sector. The initiative gives a new mandate to our innovation strategy with a view towards renewing the business in the long term and complement the various efforts already underway that aim at strengthening the current business. The vehicle for carrying out the investment will be SLC Ventures. Thank you, and now we will be open to the call for Q&A. Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, we will now initiate the question- and- answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please dial star one. If at any point your question has been answered, you may remove your question from the queue by pressing the hash key. Thank you. This concludes today's presentation. You may disconnect your line at this time, and have a nice day.