April 13, 2006

 

Argentina's corn prices up; soy unchanged

 

 

Corn prices in Argentina ended higher on Thursday (Apr 12) while soybean prices were unchanged.

 

Cash soybeans sold for ARS500 (US$162) per tonne at the Rosario Cereals Exchange, unchanged from a week ago.

 

It was not immediately clear how much soy was traded Thursday. A week ago traders sold 70,000 tonnes.

 

Buyers offered May soy futures for US$162/tonne, unchanged from a week earlier.

 

Oilseed factory employees blocked two key roads Thursday, preventing the delivery of grain and oilseed products, but the protests ended at about the same time trading did and did not affect prices.

 

Meanwhile, one trader said he expects cold weather to hit some of the soybean crop this weekend.

 

"There's going to be a cold spell, which could mean less rain in the short term," the trader said. "In general, this tends to accelerate the maturation of second-crop soybeans. But if we get an extended freeze this weekend, it could cut yields."

 

Farmers had collected 27 percent of the 2005-06 soybean crop by Apr 8, according to the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange.

 

The USDA has forecast Argentina's 2005/06 soybean crop at a record 40.5 million tonnes while the Agriculture Secretariat sees output at 39.5 million tonnes. The Buenos Aires Exchange sees it at 40.4 million tonnes.

 

By Apr 10 Argentina had sold 3.297 million tonnes of 2005/06 soybeans.

 

 

Corn

 

Cash corn sold for ARS260 per tonne Thursday in Rosario, up from ARS255 a week ago.

 

It was not immediately clear how much was sold. Last week some 10,000 tonnes of cash corn was traded in Rosario.

 

Corn futures for delivery in March and April of 2006 went for US$81/tonne.

 

Farmers had harvested 32.5 percent of the 2005/06 corn crop by Apr 8, according to the Buenos Aires Exchange.

 

The USDA has forecast Argentina's new corn harvest at 15.5 million tonnes.

 

The Secretariat sees it at 13.8 million tonnes.

 

Last season good weather and solid prices led farmers to harvest a record 19.5 million tonnes of corn, according to the USDA. The Secretariat says output last season totalled a record 20 million tonnes.

 

The Buenos Aires Exchange says farmers have planted 15.2 percent less corn than a year ago. It sees planted area at 2.23 million hectares, down from 2.62 million hectares the previous season.

 

As of Apr 7, Argentina had sold 3.215 million tonnes of 2005/06 corn, compared with 4.8 million tonnes of 2006/07 corn.