March 2, 2007

 

Argentina's wheat protein level up; quality in line with 2005/06 crop

 

 

Argentina's 2006/07 wheat crop is in a similar condition as last year's crop, although dry weather led to increased protein content, Salvador Addamo, chief crops analyst at the Rosario Cereals Exchange, told Dow Jones Newswires on Thursday (Mar 1).

 

Addamo's laboratory uses three main standards to determine quality. These factors, or quality guidelines, are similar to those used in the US and other countries. Among other things, Addamo measures grade, test weight and the percentage of broken and damaged grains.

 

Over 68 percent of the 3.86 million tonnes of wheat from which samples were taken by the Exchange's lab were Grade 2, while 12 percent was Grade 1, and about 20 percent was Grade 3 or lower, according to the Exchange.

 

However, samples are only taken from wheat submitted to the arbitration chamber due to a dispute over quality. Grade 1 wheat does not usually enter the lab.

 

The average protein level was 11.65 percent, compared with 10.57 percent in the 2005/06 wheat crop, Addamo said.

 

However, gluten levels are similar to last year's crop, he said.

 

Over the past years, Argentina's northern provinces, where wheat is planted early in the season on fields later planted with soybeans, have expanded the use of semi-hard wheat varieties, he noted. The varieties produce yields up to 30 percent higher, but with lower gluten content. The wheat is generally used as industrial flour, but is inferior to the flour usually required for bread production, he noted.

 

High grade wheat production is centered in the southern areas of Buenos Aires Province, Addamo said.

 

The amount of damaged grains found in samples tested by the lab was 0.95 percent, slightly higher than the 0.91 percent damage rate in last year's crop.

 

Argentina produced 14 million tonnes of wheat during the 2006/07 crop cycle, according to the agriculture secretariat.

 

The country has sold 8.7 million tonnes of the crop for export already, up from 5.095 million tonnes sold at this date a year earlier, according to the Secretariat.

 

Brazil is the largest importer of Argentine wheat, purchasing 3.3 million tonnes of this year's crop, according to the Secretariat.