April 30, 2010

 

Argentine record soy output seen even bigger

 

 

Argentina's 2009-10 soy crop is seen at a record 54.8 million tonnes, even higher than the previous estimate for 54.5 million tonnes, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday (April 29).

 

Argentina is the world's No. 3 soy supplier and top exporter of soyoil and soymeal, and production has soared this year due to a record sowing area and favourable weather that has boosted crop yields.

 

"The average yield across the country continues to be high thanks to the good results achieved in the main soy belt and on its edges, where the harvest is currently more advanced," the exchange said in its weekly crop estimate report.

 

Average yields stand at 3.22 tonnes per hectare, with almost two-thirds of the harvest complete.

 

By Thursday, farmers had gathered beans from 63.5% of the 19 million hectares sown with the oilseed, advancing 9 percentage points from the previous week but still lagging last season's pace by 7.9 points.

 

The exchange warned that rainstorms could delay gathering in the coming days in northern and central farming areas.

 

According to Argentina's government, soy production will be around 52.5 million tonnes, while the USDA expects 54 million tonnes.

 

Meanwhile, the exchange also reported its first estimate for the 2010-11 wheat area at 4.2 million hectares, up 26% from the meager 3.33 million hectares planted last season, when drought and poor profit prospects deterred sowing.

 

The exchange said the increase in sowing, which has started in a few places in northern Cordoba and the far south of Buenos Aires province, is being encouraged by the far more favourable soil conditions.

 

Argentina is a top-five global wheat supplier but its exports have dwindled in the past two years as drought battered production. The 2009-10 crop shrank to 7.48 million tonnes, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

 

Farmers in the South American country are also bringing in 2009-10 corn, with production seen at a healthy 21.4 million tonnes due to record yields.

 

By Thursday, growers had gathered 63.6% of commercial-use corn from harvestable lands, progressing 4.2 percentage points from last week but trailing the previous season's pace by 14.7 points.