June 2, 2008

Argentina's wheat field need rain desperately

Dry weather continues to hinder planting of Argentina's 2007-08 wheat crop and rainfall is needed very soon to avoid a significant drop in area seeded, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said in its weekly crop report Friday (May 30, 2008). 

In some areas "the optimal window for planting long-cycle wheat is passing without significant coverage being completed," the exchange said.

The planting area in these zones could fall significantly if no rain is forthcoming as forecasted over the short term, the exchange said.

Wheat acreage is already forecasted to drop 9 percent and could drop further, the exchange said.

To date 10.4 percent of the forecast area has been planted, 5 percentage points behind the planting pace at this time last year, the exchange said.

Meanwhile, the 2007-08 soy harvest is reaching its end with 97.1 percent of the crop brought in to date, the exchange said.

Yields average 2.9 tonnes per hectare. Production is forecast at a record 48 million tonnes.

The corn crop is 80.8 percent harvested, 2.9 percentage points behind the harvest pace last season.

Final yields are expected to reach 6.8 tonnes per hectare with total production of 21 million tonnes, the Exchange said.