October 26, 2004

Argentina's 2004-05 Corn Crop 48% Planted By Friday
 
As of Friday, Argentina's farmers had planted 48% of the 2004-05 corn crop, the latest Agriculture Secretariat data show.
 
This puts the pace of planting up slightly from a year ago, when farmers had planted 47% of the crop.
 
The Secretariat expects farmers to plant 3.238 million hectares, up from 2.855 million a year ago.
 
As of Friday, farmers had planted 1,563,978 hectares.
 
Meanwhile, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said Monday that farmers had planted 41.8% of the crop as of Saturday, compared with 40.6% a year ago at this time.
 
Argentina produced 13.1 million tons of corn in 2003-04, according to the exchange. The Secretariat has estimated output during this period at 13 million metric tons.
 
Last week, farmers finished collecting the 2003-04 corn harvest, the Secretariat reported.
 
The US Department of Agriculture has forecast 2004-05 Argentine output at 15.5 million tons.