April 28, 2009

Argentina's soy shipments in March slowed to a trickle due to a farm strike, reluctance to sell the estimated four million to five million tonnes of old crop stocks and the dismal yields seen from the early harvest of the 2008-09 due to the drought.

Exports in March totalled just 722 tonnes, down from 73,843 tonnes shipped a year earlier, according to the latest data from the agricultural health and sanitation service, Senasa.

China, which traditionally buys the bulk of Argentina's soy exports, didn't import a single bean in March, according to Senasa. In January and February, China bought almost 800,000 tonnes.

   
Soymeal exports in March totalled 1,041,072 tonnes, up from 555,594 million tonnes a year earlier. The data show that, faced with tight soy supplies, local crushers chose to process and export every bean they could get their hands on as meal and oil.

March soymeal exports were valued at US$334 million, up from US$170 million a year earlier.

The Netherlands was the leading buyer of Argentine soymeal in March, followed by Indonesia and Italy.

March soy pellet and cake exports totalled 276,880 tonnes, compared with 117,714 tonnes a year earlier.

Soyoil exports in March totalled 347,836 tonnes, up from 185,337 tonnes a year earlier.

March soyoil exports were valued at US$227 million.

As usual, China was the leading buyer.

Argentina is the world's No. 3 soy producer and exporter behind the US and Brazil and is the leading exporter of soyoil and meal.
 

Argentina also shipped 54,789 tonnes of sunseed oil in March, up from 45,342 tonnes shipped a year earlier.

March sunflower seed oil shipments were valued at US$36 million.

Egypt has been the leading buyer of Argentine sunseed oil so far this year, followed by China and India.

Argentina is the world's leading exporter of sunseed oil.