June 23, 2008

 

Dryness slows down Argentina's wheat planting

Argentine wheat planting continues to stumble along, with dryness slowing the planting pace, the Agriculture Secretariat said in its weekly crop report Friday (June 19, 2008).

 

However, moderate showers fell across much of the Pampas late last week, a fact not reflected in the report which covers the period up to Thursday.

 

A report Friday from the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said rain across much of Argentina's agricultural heartland provided a needed boost to the young wheat crop and improved planting conditions,

 

"Fortunately, starting Thursday, rainfall of mixed intensity fell in Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Entre Rios and the south of Cordoba province, alleviating, at least in some areas, the extreme drought that they were suffering," the exchange said.

 

However, the rainfall did not reach the northern areas of Cordoba and Santa Fe provinces, where more than a few farmers may give up wheat planting and shift to coarse grains, the exchange said.

 

The Secretariat report said farmers had planted 31 percent of the 4.9 million hectares seen going to wheat this year as of June 19. The planting pace is 18 percentage points behind the pace at this date last year.

 

Very dry conditions have slowed planting and prevented some farmers from sowing the grain.

 

On Thursday, the Secretariat lowered its forecast for 2008-09 wheat planting area to 4.9 million hectares, down 16 percent from the 5.85 million hectares planted last season.

 

Last month, the secretariat said that 5.1 million to 5.4 million hectares were expected to be sown with wheat, but some farmers have since opted to shift away from the grain.

 

"Present conditions, higher costs for fertilizers and agrochemicals, fuel shortages, and low soil moisture levels, have made planting impossible in some cases and in other cases caused farmers to rethink their plans to plant the cereal," the secretariat said.

 

Roadblocks sparked by the ongoing farmers' and truckers strikes have also caused supply problems for farmers in Buenos Aires province, the Secretariat said.

Soy
  

Farmers had harvested 99 percent of the 2007-08 soy crop as of June 19.

 

Conditions of the crop are mixed due to early drought and late frost, the Secretariat said. On Thursday the Secretariat lowered its production forecast by 500,000 tonnes to 46.5 million metric tonnes.

Corn

 

About 90 percent  of the 2007-08 corn crop has been harvested, in line with the pace at this time last year, the Secretariat said.

 

Output is forecast at 20.4 million tonnes.