Argentina's soy crush plummets 33% in February

Argentine soy crushing fell 33% in February year-over-year to 1.4 million tonnes as a smaller harvest hit oil and meal output, according to the latest figures published by the Agriculture Ministry.

Argentina is the world's top supplier of soyoil and soymeal and the third-biggest exporter of unprocessed beans.

During February, crushing companies produced 268,848 tonnes of soyoil, down 31% from the same month last year. Soy pellet output fell 32% year-on-year to 1.09 million tonnes.

In January, crushers processed 1.63 million tonnes of soy. The crush totalled 2.084 million tonnes in February 2009.

The country's 2008-09 soy harvest shrank to 32 million tonnes due to the parched conditions, but most analysts expect record production of up to 55 million tonnes this season. Farmers are currently bringing in 2009-10 beans.

Argentina's government has recently started to publish soy crushing data again after a hiatus of more than a year.