May 22, 2007

 

Argentina's wheat farming slow for 2007/2008

 

 

Argentina's farmers are still undecided whether to plant wheat in 2007/2008 due to lure of higher market prices of corn and even as the sowing campaign has already started in some parts of the country, according to Buenos Aires Grain Exchange.

 

The exchange's latest weekly crop progress report said 6 percent of the estimated sowing area of 5.16 million hectares had already been planted with sowing focused in northwestern areas, northern Cordoba province and Southern Buenos Aires.

 

The report said most farmers have been thinking twice in planting wheat due to higher cost of farming and the call of good prices with corn.

 

Buenos Aires province is the country's most important wheat-farming area and accounts for about 60 percent of production, while Cordoba is the country's third largest wheat grower.

 

The grain exchange's report said the rest of the wheat-farming areas are seeing some degree of delay which is linked to the lateness in harvesting summer crops and the indecision among quite a few farmers.

 

Last season, farmers sowed 5.5 million hectares with wheat and 14 million tonnes were harvested.

 

The Agriculture Secretariat estimates a sowing area of 5.2 million hectares this season while the US Department of Agriculture expects lower production of 12.8 million tonnes.

 

The Argentine government has earlier banned new wheat exports this year to assure ample supply in the domestic market which have been criticised by farmers and threatened to sow less wheat for 2007/2008.

 

On the other hand, dry weather has slowed progress in 2006/2007 corn harvest last week as the grains on the late planting are yet to finish its growing cycle, the exchange report said.

 

Argentina is the world's second-biggest exporter of corn after the United States and is estimated by this season's production at a record of 22.5 million tonnes.

 

Farmers had already harvested 63.5 percent of the 2.85 million hectares planted with 2006/07 commercial-use corn, 3.5 percentage points more than a week earlier but trailing last year's pace by 9.5 points.

 

The local Agriculture Secretariat and the USDA forecast Argentina's 2006/07 corn crop at 22 million tonnes.