March 18, 2008

 

Argentina kicks off 07-08 soy harvest with lower yields but record acreage

 

 

Argentina's farmers kicked off the 2007-08 soy harvest this week, bringing in 1 percent of the record 16.7 million hectares planted this season as of March 17, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said in its weekly crop report Monday. 

 

Yields from the first fields have averaged 2.66 tonnes per hectare, down 680 kilograms per hectare from the extraordinary yields seen early last season, the exchange said. Early drought affected the crop, but recent rainfall has left adequate moisture reserves for the last phase of development. Weather conditions during the second half of March and the month of April will determine future yields, according to the exchange.

 

Output is forecast at 47 million tonnes this season, according to the exchange.

 

Corn
 

Good weather last week allowed farmers to increase the harvest pace for the 2007-08 corn crop. To date, 17 percent of the crop has been harvested, 5.4 percentage points ahead of the pace at this time last year.

 

Yields average 6.3 tonnes per hectare, down 1.87 tonnes per hectare from this point last year, when yields were extremely high due to heavy rainfall. Corn planted later this season is expected to show higher yields due to sufficient rainfall during key growing periods, according to the exchange.

 

Output is forecast by the exchange at 20.5 million tonnes.

 

Sunseed 
 

Farmers had harvested 46.8 percent of the 2007-08 sunseed crop as of March 17, 11.1 percentage points behind the pace at this time last year, the exchange said.

 

Yields average 1.88 tonnes per hectare, up 370 kilograms per hectare from this point last year, when drought challenged the crop.

 

Argentina is expected to produce 4.2 million metric tonnes of sunflower seeds from the 2007-08 crop, a 20 percent-22 percent increase from last season, according to the Exchange.