January 25, 2010

Argentina almost done planting record soy crop

Argentina has just about wrapped up planting its bumper 2009-10 soy crop, with recent showers spurring good development.

As of January 21, 98% of the record 18.2 million hectares seen going to the oilseed had been planted, the Agriculture Ministry said in its weekly report on Friday (Jan 22).

Argentina's 2009-10 soy crop is expected to come in at over 50 million tonnes, a new national record, President Cristina Fernandez said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the corn crop is also developing well, with 93% of the 3.1 million hectares seen going to the crop this year planted as of Thursday, according to the ministry.

Area is seen down 10% on the year, with production estimated at 18 million to 20 million tonnes, according to Fernandez. That would be up significantly from the 12.6 million tonnes grown last season when the crop was battered by drought.

Farmers wrapped up the wheat harvest this week, with final output estimated at 7.5 million tonnes, according to the ministry.

Planted area totalled just 3.2 million hectares, down 33% on the year as early drought and government intervention in wheat markets spurred a shift away from the crop.