January 22, 2008

Argentina 07-08 wheat sales at 7.06 million tonnes

Argentina's 2007-08 wheat export commitments totaled 7.05 million tonnes as of January 18, the Agriculture Secretariat said Monday.

Major buyers for Argentina's 2007-08 wheat crop include Brazil with 3 million tonnes, South Africa with 500,000 tonnes and India with 450,000 tonnes.

About 10.5 million tonnes of wheat are expected to be available for export from the new crop, according to the USDA estimate.

The Argentine government last month extended the closure of the wheat export registry indefinitely while it studies the damage to the new crop from frosts in November.

Old crop (2006-07) wheat sales totaled 9.364 million metric tons as of Jan. 18, according to the secretariat.