April 7, 2009

Argentina's crops are showing a wide variety of conditions, with drought damage affecting potential yields across much of the farm belt, the Agriculture Secretariat said in its weekly crop report late Friday (April 3).

In the Pehuajo district of Buenos Aires province, the early crop is showing "serious quality problems," but later crops should be better, the Secretariat said.

Still, late soy is starting to suffer from renewed dryness in Pehuajo, dashing hopes of a significant recovery due to rainfall last month. The dry, hot weather has caused some plants to drop their leaves prematurely, the Secretariat said.

Conditions are better in other provinces, but crop quality still varies widely, with many fields suffering due to the poor weather conditions.

It's unclear just how much soy the Secretariat expects to be grown across the Pampas this season.

Last week, the Secretariat published a report forecasting 2008-09 soy production at 37 million to 39 million tonnes, down sharply from the 46.2 tonnes grown last season. But later in the day, the Secretariat revoked the report, saying it contained errors.

Critics accuse the government of manipulating data and revoking the report due to its pessimistic assessment of potential crop production.

Local analysts see production down sharply this season due to the drought and decreased spending on agrochemicals.

As of Thursday, farmers had harvested 25 percent of the soy crop, up 14 percentage points from the pace last season, according to the Secretariat.

Farmers had harvested 34 percent of the 2008-09 corn crop, up eight percentage points from this time last year, according to the Secretariat.

Crop conditions vary widely, with conditions poor in many areas, the Secretariat said.

In Buenos Aires province, many fields have been turned over to cattle pasture due to the poor conditions. Drought, late frosts and low agrochemical use combined to cause the low yields, the Secretariat said.

Conditions are better in the important corn-growing province of Cordoba, but yields still vary widely.

The Secretariat is predicting 2008-09 corn production of 12.5 million to 13.8 million tonnes, down sharply from the 20.5 million tonnes grown last season.

The 2008-09 sunflower seed harvest is 96 percent complete, up 13 percentage points from this point last season. Production is expected to fall sharply to 2.45 million this season due to the drought.