July 2, 2007

 

Argentina completes 2007/08 soy harvest record of 47.5 million tonnes
 

 

Argentine farmers wrapped up the 2007-08 soy harvest this week, growing a record 47.5 million metric tonnes, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said in its weekly crop report Friday.

 

Record yields of almost 3 tonnes per hectare resulted from heavy rainfall late in the season, according to the exchange.

 

Farmers have planted 55.3 percent of the 5.4 million hectares forecast for wheat, 6.5 points ahead of the pace at this time last year, according to the exchange.

 

Despite the rapid progress, the shortage of diesel and urea fertilizer was complicating planting, the exchange said.

 

While farmers have managed to scrape together sufficient fuel to complete planting and harvest goals over the past years, supplies appear to be even tighter now after several years of GDP growth topping 8 percent and government-imposed price caps. Farmers are also having trouble obtaining urea, a fertilizer production has been stunted by energy cuts to production plants.

 

Farmers have harvested 94 percent of this year's corn crop, 2.2 points behind last year's pace.

 

Yields from the 2006-07 crop are expected to total 8 tonnes per hectare, with total production of 22.5 million tonnes, according to the Exchange.

  

Estimates for Argentina's 2007-08 crop production in millions of hectares (Ha) or millions of tonnes (MT)

                               Wheat       Soy        Corn       Sunseed

Agriculture               5.5 HA       N/A         N/A           N/A
Secretariat    
 
USDA                       14MT        47MT      24MT          N/A

 

B.A. Cereals             5.4HA        N/A         N/A           N/A
Exchange  
  

Estimates for Argentina's 2006-07 crop production in million tonnes:    

                             Wheat         Soy        Corn        Sunseed

Agriculture               14.3          47.2         22           3.62
Secretariat   
   

USDA                      14.2          46.5        22.5          3.5
 

B.A. Cereals            13.8          47.5        22.5          3.4
Exchange 
   

Argentina's historical production estimates in millions of metric tonnes, according to the Agriculture Secretariat:

 

                           Wheat           Soy        Corn       Sunseed

 2005-06                12.6           40.5        14.5          3.8

 2004-05                16              38.3        20.5          3.7

 2003-04                14.6           31.6         15            3.1

 2002-03                12.3           35           14.7          3.4

 2001-02                15.3           30           15.4          3.8