August 25, 2006

 

Argentina cash corn up on strong export demand

 

 

Cash corn sold for ARS267 per tonne Thursday (Aug 24) in Rosario, up from ARS260 a week ago. Around 4,000 tonnes were traded, down from 8,000 a week ago.

 

Corn futures for delivery in March 2007 sold for US$86/tonne, up from US$83 last Thursday.

 

Strong export demand and rising prices for corn in Chicago lifted local corn prices, Boglioli said.

 

"We could see corn prices pushing ARS270," he added.

 

The USDA forecasts that Argentina will produce 17.5 million tonnes of corn in 2006/07, up sharply from the 14 million tonnes produced in 2005/06.

 

The Agriculture Secretariat estimates that 3.2-3.3 million hectares will be planted with corn during the 2006/07 crop cycle, up 3 percent from last year.

 

As of Aug 18, Argentina had sold 7.12 million tonnes of 2005/06 corn for export, compared with 9.7 million tonnes of 2004/05 corn at this time last year.

 

 

Soy

 

Cash soybeans sold for ARS518/tonne, up slightly from ARS515 a week ago.

 

Some 4,000 tonnes of soybeans were traded Thursday in Rosario, compared to 5,000 tonnes a week earlier.

 

Sellers and buyers are aggressively negotiating prices "down to the peso", Boglioli said.

 

Exporters offered US$167/tonne for soy futures with delivery in May 2007, down from US$169 last week.

 

The USDA has estimated Argentina's 2005/06 soybean crop at a record 41.3 million tonnes while the Agriculture Secretariat sees output at 40.5 million tonnes.

 

The Buenos Aires Exchange put 2005/06 soybean production at 40.75 million tonnes.