January 14, 2008

Argentina 06-07 corn sales up to 13.97 million tonnes
 

As of Jan. 11, Argentina had sold 13.97 million  tonnes of 2006-07 (March-February) corn for export, up from 13.5 million a week earlier, the Agriculture Secretariat said on Friday (January 11, 2008).

In November 2006, the government froze the export registry in the face of soaring export declarations.

The Agriculture Secretariat announced the reopening of the corn export registry for 3 million tonnes in June and the quota was filled within a week. The reason for the increase in exports was not disclosed and may pertain to adjustments to previous figures.

By this time last year Argentina had sold 8.6 million tonnes of 2005-06 corn.

No export commitments have been reported for the 2007-08 crop due to the registry closure.

The leading purchaser of Argentina's 2006-07 corn crop is Spain with 1.6 million tonnes. Chile bought 1.15 million tonnes, while other major buyers are Egypt (1.1 million tonnes), Malaysia (1.05 million tonnes), Peru (1.05 million tonnes), Algeria (1.04 million tonnes) and South Africa (1.05 million tonnes).