September 25, 2006

 

Argentina rains help wheat but drought continues

 

 

Light rainfall between Sep 13 and 19 brought slight relief to Argentina's young wheat crop over the past week, the Agriculture secretariat said in its weekly crop report Friday (Sep 22).

 

But drought continues to affect the crop's development and is stalling corn planting.

 

Wheat conditions were varied, but the general lack of sufficient moisture was stressing the new crop, the Secretariat said.

 

Argentine farmers had completed 2006/07 wheat planting as of Thursday, with area reaching 5.27 million hectares.

 

This week the Agriculture Secretariat lowered its estimate for 2006/07 wheat planting to 5.3 million hectares, down from the 5.4 million hectares it had forecast last month. Planting totalled 5.05 million hectares a year ago.

 

In 2005/06, Argentina produced 12.01 million tonnes of wheat, according to the Buenos Aires Cereals 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 13.25 million tonnes.

 

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

 

 

Corn

 

Corn planting is progressing at a slow pace as farmers await better moisture and temperature conditions, the Secretariat said.

 

Argentina will plant an estimated 3.3 million hectares of corn during the 2006/07 crop cycle, up 3.8 percent from 3.18 million in 2005/06, according to the Agriculture Secretariat.

 

The US Department of Agriculture forecasts Argentina's 2006/07 corn production at 17.5 million tonnes.

 

In 2005/06 Argentina produced 14.5 million tonnes of corn, down 29.3 percent from the record 20.5 million tonnes produced the previous year.

 

 

Soy

 

Argentina plants soybeans from October to January and harvests the crop from March to July.

 

The Agriculture Secretariat forecasts that 15.5-15.8 million hectares will be planted with soy in 2006/07.

 

The USDA estimates that Argentina will produce 41.3 million tonnes of soy from the 2006/07 crop.