November 29, 2004

Argentina's 2004-05 Corn Output Seen At 15.5 Million MT

Argentine farmers will produce 15.5 million metric tons of corn in 2004-05, according to an estimate Friday by the local brokerage Granos del Parana.

If the forecast holds, it would put corn production up 10.7% from a year ago, when it totaled 14 million tons, Granos del Parana said.

Planted area for all types of 2004-05 corn is expected to total 3.2 million hectares, up 11% from a year earlier, the brokerage estimated.

"Of this surface area, we can estimate production of 15.5 million tons, assuming yields of around 6.5 tons per hectare," Granos del Parana said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has also estimated Argentina's 2004-05 corn production at 15.5 million tons.

The USDA sees area for 2004-05 corn at 2.5 million hectares, though this does not include corn planted for later use as animal feed.

The average yield for corn this season will total 6.2 tons/hectare, up from 6.07 million a year, according to the USDA.

As of Nov. 19 farmers had planted 76% of the 2004-05 corn crop, Agriculture Secretariat data show. This puts the pace of planting up from a year ago, when farmers had planted 63% of a smaller crop.