May 29, 2006

 

Argentina's soy prices unchanged; corn down

 

 

Argentina's cash soy were stable Friday (May 26) while corn prices were down.

 

Cash soybeans sold for ARS520/tonne, unchanged from a week ago.

 

Some 50,000 tonnes of cash soybeans were sold Friday in Rosario.

 

Buyers offered May soy futures for US$175/tonne, down slightly from US$177/tonne a week earlier.

 

Around 6,000 of new soybean futures were sold Friday.

 

Farmers had collected about 91 percent of the 2005/06 soybean crop by May 19, according to the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange.

 

The US Department of Agriculture has forecast Argentina's 2005/06 soybean crop at a record 40.5 million tonnes while the Agriculture Secretariat sees output at 40 million tonnes The Buenos Aires Exchange sees it at 40.4 million tonnes.

 

By May 23, Argentina had sold 4.584 million tonnes of 2005/06 soybeans.

 

 

Corn

 

Cash corn sold for as much as ARS270 per tonne Thursday in Rosario, down from ARS273 a week ago.

 

The Rosario Exchange said 40,000 tonne of cash corn were sold Friday. Another 10,000 tonne of corn futures were traded.

 

Corn futures for delivery in March 2007 sold for US$88/tonne, up from US$87 a week earlier.

 

Farmers had harvested 73 percent of the 2005/06 corn crop by May 19, 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 14 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 May 26, Argentina had sold 4.82 million tonnes of 2005/06 corn, compared with 7.02 million tonnes of 2006/07 corn.