April 19, 2012

Argentina talks on boosting corn export quota

At a meeting of government officials and agricultural producers Wednesday (Apr 18), Argentinean officials had considered increasing export quotas, an industry group said.

Officials also discussed estimates for the corn crop and domestic demand that afternoon, Ider Peretti, president of the Argentine Producers Council, said in a phone interview.

Argentina's restriction on corn exports and drought will reduce the size of the crop this year, as export limits deter farmers from investing, said Juan Cruz Rey Kelly, an economist at the Argentine Rural Confederations.

The government may increase the quota by 3-4 million tonnes from its current level of 7.5 million tonnes, Cruz Rey Kelly said in a phone interview Wednesday. A higher quota would increase inflows of dollars from export sales, easing pressure on the peso, after the government's seizure of control of oil producer YPF SA (YPFD), he said.

Argentina's harvest may shrink to about 21.5 million tonnes in the year that ends September 30 from 23.6 million tonnes in the prior year, according to data from the USDA and the International Grains Council.