November 13, 2006

 

Argentina's soy area to hit record high of 16.1 million hectares

 

 

Argentina will plant a record 16.1 million hectares with soybeans this year, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said Friday (Nov 10).

 

Recent rainfall has spurred soy planting, with 30 percent of the forecast area seeded as of Friday. Planting is 2.4 points behind last year's rate, the Exchange said.

 

The Exchange sees soy area up 3 percent from last year, due to 480,000 hectares being shifted from cattle pasture to soy cultivation.

 

In addition, some farmers made last minute decisions to plant soy instead of corn as early drought prevented corn seeding during the optimal period, the Exchange said.

 

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.

 

 

Wheat

 

Cool weather and sufficient rainfall over the past week continued to improve wheat crop conditions, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said Friday.

 

Crop conditions are good in Buenos Aires Province, while in Santa Fe crop conditions are considered "normal" despite early drought, the Exchange said.

 

Argentina has harvested 12.3 percent of the 2006/07 wheat crop, four points ahead of the same date last year, Exchange said.

 

The Exchange said that 56.7 percent of the new wheat crop was in good or very good condition, 19.4 percent was average, 22.1 percent was poor and 1.8 percent was practically lost and not worth harvesting.

 

The Exchange estimates new-crop production of 13.8 million tonnes.

 

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.

 

 

Corn

 

As of Friday, 70 percent of the 2.57 million hectares forecast for corn had been planted, according to the Exchange. The planting pace was 1 point above the same time last year.

 

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 doesn't include that area in its estimate

 

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