November 6, 2006

 

Argentina's 2006/07 wheat crop at 13.8 million tonnes

 

 

Argentina will produce 13.8 million tonnes of wheat from the 2006/07 crop, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said Friday (Nov 3).

 

Argentina has harvested 10.2 percent of the 2006/07 wheat crop, four percentage points ahead of the same date last year, Exchange said.

 

The Exchange said that 55.9 percent of the new wheat crop was in good or very good condition, 20 percent was average, 22.3 percent was poor and 1.8 percent was practically lost and not worth harvesting.

 

The Agriculture Secretariat forecasts 2006/07 wheat production at 13.5 million tonnes, while the US Department of Agriculture forecasts production of 13.25 million tonnes.

 

 

Soybeans

 

Recent rains have spurred soy planting, with 15 percent of the forecast 16.1 million hectares seeded as of Friday, the Exchange said. Planting is 2.1 points behind last year's pace.

 

The Agriculture Secretariat forecasts 15.6 million hectares will be planted with soy in 2006/07, up 1.8 percent from a year ago.

 

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

 

 

Corn

 

As of Friday, 64 percent of the 2.57 million hectares forecast for corn had been planted, according to the Exchange. The planting pace was equal to the same time last year.

 

The Exchange also raised its forecast for corn area from last week by 50,000 hectares.

 

According to the Secretariat, Argentina will plant 3.4 million hectares of corn during the 2006/07 crop cycle, up 6.8 percent from 3.18 million in 2005/06.

 

The Secretariat's forecast includes corn destined for animal feed, while the Exchange does not include that area in its estimate

 

The USDA forecasts Argentina's 2006/07 corn production at 17.5 million tonnes.