December 28, 2009

Uruguay's grain production on a steady rise

Grain production in Uruguay is expected to reach new highs this year, as output continues to rise steadily from previous seasons.

Uruguay is expecting a record wheat crop for the second year running in 2009 while the barley harvest is forecasted as the largest in the last 10 years, according to the Statistics Office from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.

Winter crops area was estimated in 721,000 hectares of which 546,000 are planted with wheat, 70,000 hectares more than last year. Winter crop acreage have been increasing steadily since the 2006-07 harvest.

The estimated crop will be above 1.8 million tonnes, an all time record and for the second year running. The yield of 3.336 kg per hectare is also a historic record.

Barley covered 140,000 hectares, 8% more than the previous crop. Yields so far are in the range of 3.294 kg per hectare, second to the 2006-07 crop record.

However late spring and early summer rains have slowed down some of the harvesting and 13% of wheat farms and 8% of barley plantations have suffered delays in the harvesting because of excess humidity, according to the Statistics Office.

Meanwhile summer crops in Uruguay this season are estimated to cover a million hectares, 30% higher than last year, with soy taking the highest share at 848,000 hectares, which makes it the main crop of the country. The soy area has been increasing steadily since 2000-01.

Corn acreage is expected to increase for the fourth year running, the largest in the last 10 years, which makes it the second biggest summer crop. However, sorghum is expected to see a considerable drop in the acreage.