January 17, 2006

Argentina's 2005/06 soybean crop 95 percent planted

Argentina's farmers had planted 95 percent of the 2005/06 soybean crop by Saturday, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange reported Monday.

That puts the pace of planting up slightly from 94 percent a week ago but down 1.7 percentage points from a year ago at this time, when area was measurably smaller.

The crop received a much needed rainfall last week, which notably improved production prospects this season.

"The (more humid) soil conditions will substantially improve the state of first-crop soybeans, especially those of longer planting cycles and second-crop beans, which were passing through the vegetative phase and ran a greater risk of failure because of the very low soil moisture levels," the Exchange said. "This will allow us to put a floor on the drop in potential yields that the crop would have suffered (because of the drought)..."

The Exchange expects farmers to plant a record 15.62 million hectares of soy this season, up from 14.67 million hectares a year earlier. As of Monday, they had sown 14.843 million hectares.

The USDA has forecast Argentina's 2005/06 soybean output at a record 40.5 million metric tonnes, compared with the previous record of 39 million tonnes a year ago.

Farmers are planting and producing more soy because it is cheaper to grow than corn and can be sold for more money in commodities markets.