November 21, 2006
Argentina's soy seeding slowed by dry weather
Argentine soy seeding slowed over the past week due to dry weather in some areas, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said Monday (Nov 20).
As of Nov 17, farmers had planted 45 percent of the forecast 16.1 million hectares, up 15 percentage points from last week, but 5 percentage points behind the planting pace last year, according to the exchange.
The exchange sees soy area up 3 percent from last year, due in part to 480,000 hectares being shifted from cattle pasture to soy cultivation.
The Agriculture Secretariat forecasts that 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
Hot weather coupled with strong winds caused a slight deterioration in the 2006/07 wheat crop, the exchange said.
Argentina has harvested 14.1 percent of the 2006/07 wheat crop, five percentage points ahead of the same date last year, the exchange said.
It said that 56 percent of the new wheat crop was in good or very good condition, 20 percent was average, 22 percent was poor and 2 percent was practically lost and not worth harvesting.
The exchange estimates new-crop production at 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, 71 percent of the 2.6 million hectares forecast for corn had been planted, according to the Exchange. Planting advanced just one point from a week ago due to dry weather, the Exchange said.
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, which the Exchange does not include in its estimate.
The USDA forecasts Argentina's 2006/07 corn production at 17.5 million tonnes.
