July 10, 2006

 

Argentina's 2006/07 wheat crop 63 percent planted

 

 

Farmers in Argentina had planted 63 percent of the 2006/07 wheat crop by Thursday (Jul 6), the Agriculture Secretariat reported Friday.

 

The Secretariat has forecast planted area at 5.599 million hectares, up from 5.16 million a year earlier.

 

The Secretariat said dry weather could lead farmers to plant less than expected.

 

"The absence of rain in big productive areas is increasing the amount of uncertainty about the final size of planted area," the Secretariat said.

 

Farmers had planted 3,539,490 hectares by Thursday, according to the Secretariat.

 

According to the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange, farmers had planted 48.8 percent of the 2006/07 wheat crop by Jun 30. The Exchange expects planted area to total 5.53 million hectares.

 

In 2005/06 Argentina produced 12 million tonnes of wheat, according to the Exchange. That was down from 16.345 million tonnes a year earlier, when good weather helped lift yields.

 

The US Department of Agriculture has forecast Argentina's 2006/07 wheat crop at 14.3 million tonnes.

 

The Secretariat has not released a formal forecast for 2006/07 wheat production.