January 18, 2007

 

Argentina to plant record soy crop, high corn area

 

 

Argentina's farmers will plant a record 16.05 million hectares with soybeans during the 2006/07 crop cycle, up slightly from last month's forecast of 16 million hectares, the Agriculture Secretariat reported Wednesday.

The Secretariat also upped its forecast for corn area to 3.5 million hectares, compared with 3.45 million hectares seen last month.

 

The forecast for wheat production remained unchanged at 13.7 million tonnes.

 

Analysts predict record soybean production and high corn production due to favourable weather conditions.

 

Heavy rainfall in November and December led analysts to sharply increase estimates for 2006/07 corn and soy production.

 

"Rain makes grain," said Panagricola chief analyst Ricardo Baccarin, when explaining his increased crop estimates.

 

The country could see record yields of corn and soy if the recent rainfall is followed by good or normal weather in January and February, AgricPac Consultores analyst Pablo Adreani said.

 

Early drought had raised concerns about decreased wheat output from the 2006/07 crop, but "yields have been much higher than initially estimated with record yields in many areas this season," Adreani said.

 

 

Soy

 

Record soybean output is expected from this crop due to the increased area dedicated to soy and good soil moisture, according to analysts.

 

Argentina's leading agricultural analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires see soy production of between 44 and 45 million tonnes, while the US Department of Agriculture forecasts production of 42.5 million tonnes.

 

As of Jan 11, Argentine farmers had seeded 90 percent of the area expected to be dedicated to soy this year, according to the Secretariat.

 

 

Corn

 

As of Jan 11, farmers had planted 97 percent of the area planned for corn, according to the Secretariat.

 

While the Secretariat did not estimate production, analysts see 2006/07 corn production at 20-21 million tonnes, while the USDA has forecast 19 million tonnes.

 

 

Wheat

 

Analysts see between 13.9 and 15 million tonnes of wheat coming from the current crop, higher than the Secretariat's estimate of 13.7 million tonnes. The USDA has pegged production at 14.2 million tonnes, while the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange puts production at 13.8 million tonnes.

 

As of Jan 11, Argentina's farmers had harvested 99 percent of the 2006/07 wheat crop, the Secretariat said in its weekly crop report Friday.