January 24, 2006

 

Argentina's 2005/06 soybean crop 99 percent planted

 

 

Argentina's farmers had planted 99 percent of the 2005/06 soybean crop by Jan 19, raising the planting pace from 97 percent a week earlier, the Agriculture Secretariat reported Monday.

 

This season's pace compares with 98 percent a year ago.

 

Area this year is up 782,000 hectares from a year earlier, meaning the pace of planting this season is even faster than appears compared with the previous one.

 

The Secretariat said soybeans are in much better condition than they were a few weeks ago thanks to a substantial amount of rain earlier this month. In many areas soil-moisture levels have risen and the crop is recovering well from temporary damage caused by an extended drought.

 

The Secretariat has estimated planted area at a record 15.182 million hectares, up from 14.4 million hectares previously. As of Thursday farmers had sown 15,003,970 hectares of soybeans.

 

The Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange has estimated planted area at 15.62 million hectares, up from 14.67 million hectares a year earlier.

 

The US Department of Agriculture has forecast Argentina's 2005/06 soybean output at a record 40.5 million tonnes, up from the previous record of 39 million tonnes a year ago.

 

The USDA sees Argentina's soybean area totalling 15.2 million hectares this season, compared with 14.4 million hectares a year earlier.

 

 

Corn

 

Corn farmers had sown 97 percent of the 2005/06 crop by Jan 19, lifting the planting pace a bit from 94 percent a week ago. The pace is down from 98 percent a year earlier, mainly because of an extended drought this year.

 

The annual planting pace is down even though area is down 8.7 percent from a year earlier.

 

A lack of rain earlier in the season led to a slower planting pace. Meanwhile, low corn prices and high production costs led to a decrease in area.

 

Corn in many provinces has been damaged because of the drought, and yields are lower than expected in most areas. Argentina's top corn organisation, Maizar, sees 2005/06 production at 14 million tonnes, down from 20 million tonnes a year ago.

 

The Secretariat sees area at 3.006 million hectares, down from 3.348 million hectares a year earlier.

 

As of Jan 19 farmers had planted 2,927,724 hectares.

 

The USDA has forecast Argentina's 2005/06 corn production at 16.8 million tonnes, down from 19.5 million in 2004/05.

 

The Exchange has estimated planted area this season at 2.23 million hectares, compared with 2.63 million hectares a year earlier. The Exchange's estimate does not include corn grown strictly for use as animal feed.