December 23, 2003

 

Argentina's 2003-04 Corn Planting Down 10%

 

The pace of planting of Argentine Corn is down 10% from the previous year. Up to 20 December, farmers had planted 83.5% of the 2003-04 corn crop, up from 77% a week ago, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said in its weekly crops report.

 

The exchange maintained its estimate for planted area of commercially tradable corn at 2.2 million hectares, which is down 8.3% from a year ago. Another 450,000 hectares probably will be planted with corn used for feed.

 

Total corn area is seen at 2.75 million hectares, which would be a decline of almost 10% from a year ago.

 

As of Saturday, farmers had planted 1,836,800 million hectares of 2003-04 corn, according to the exchange.

 

"Planting continued with delays in southeastern Cordoba, which caused the national delay," the exchange said. "This weekend's rain will probably improve corn that was planted late. (But) the development of the crop in areas that suffer from a moisture deficit is complicated."

 

The crop has not reached adequate height in a number of areas and therefore has been unable to "capture the optimum amount of (solar) radiation," the exchange said.

 

As a result, yields may be restrained in these areas.

 

The Agriculture Secretariat expects 2003-04 area to total 2.91 million hectares, which would be 5.6% less than the previous year, according to official data.

 

In 2002-03, Argentina planted 3.092 million hectares of corn and produced 15 million metric tons of the grain, Secretariat data show.

 

According to the exchange, Argentina produced 15.25 million tons of corn last year.

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated 2003-04 corn production at 13.5 million tons.

 

SOYBEANS

 

Meanwhile, the exchange said farmers had planted 84.7% of the 2003-04 soybean crop by Saturday.

 

This is up from 64.6% a week ago.

 

The exchange did not compare the pace of planting with that of the previous year. But in a sign that conditions are improving, the exchange raised its estimate for planted area to 13.9 million hectares, up from 13.85 million a week ago.

 

This would be the biggest soy area in Argentine history.

 

Thanks to this expanded area, soybean production in 2003-04 will rise about 1.1 million metric tons from a year ago, the exchange said. This would place output at almost 36.4 million tons.

 

Last year, farmers planted 12.8 million hectares.

 

In 2002-03, Argentina produced 35.27 million tons of soybeans, according to the exchange. The USDA estimates 2003-04 soybean production at 36.5 million tons.

 

About 11,777,100 hectares had been planted by Saturday.

 

SUNSEED

 

Finally, farmers had also planted 94.5% of the 2003-04 sunseed crop by Saturday. This is up from 92% the previous week.

 

The exchange did not say how the pace of planting compares with the previous year. However, it did say the following:

 

"As of December 20, planting continued slowly in southwest and southeast Cordoba, center-south La Pampa and southwestern Buenos Aires, limited by scarce soil moisture," the exchange said. "If it does not rain immediately, the delay could cause a new reduction in planted area."

 

The condition of the crop is good in Chaco, Santiago del Estero and in central parts of Santa Fe, although excess precipitation this weekend could hinder growth, according to the exchange.

 

Area is estimated at 1.98 million hectares, the exchange said. This would be a decline of around 14% from the previous year.

 

In 2002-03, farmers planted 2.3 million hectares.

 

So far 1,871,200 hectares have been planted, and the Agriculture Secretariat expects a total of 2.06 million hectares, down from 2.32 million the previous year, according to official data.

 

Neither the exchange nor the Secretariat has forecast total sunseed production for 2003-04.

 

The USDA has estimated 2003-04 sunseed output at 3.3 million tons.