January 7, 2008
Argentina corn crop hit by further dryness
Argentina's young corn crop is in need of more rain to help development, with high temperatures affecting crops in some areas, the Agriculture Secretariat said in its weekly crop report on Friday (January 4, 2008).
In the province of Cordoba, where almost half of Argentina's corn crop is usually grown, dry weather and elevated temperatures are reducing expected yields and leading some farmers to turn fields planned for corn over to other crops or to plant in dry soil hoping for imminent rainfall to spur germination, the secretariat said.
"The fields affected by the November frosts are not recovering and offer a low vegetative volume and an uneven germination, and this will lead to lower yields," the secretariat said of the corn crop in the Marcos Juarez district of Cordoba.
As of Thursday, farmers had planted 90 percent of the 4 million hectares seen going to corn this season, three percentage points behind the planting pace on the same date last year, according to the secretariat.
Argentina's farmers have planted 87 percent of the record 16.6 million hectares seen going to soy this season, five percentage points behind the planting pace at this time last year, according to the secretariat.
The 2007-08 wheat harvest moved ahead briskly, helped by dry weather and an ample availability of harvesters, particularly in the provinces of Buenos Aires and La Pampa. Yields are improving from lower levels in some southern areas that were affected by frosts in November. High yields in other areas will compensate for the losses, the secretariat said.
As of Thursday, farmers had harvested 87 percent of the 2007-08 wheat crop, nine percentage points behind the harvest pace last season. The harvest advanced 18 percentage points over the past week, according to the secretariat.
The crop is recovering slowly but constantly from the frost in places like Tandil, Buenos Aires province, the secretariat said.
In its most recent monthly crop report, the secretariat left its forecast for this season's production at 15.4 million tonnes.
As of Thursday, farmers had planted 98 percent of the 2.6 million hectares seen going to sunseed this season, one percentage point behind the planting pace at this time last year, according to the secretariat.
Estimates for Argentina's 2007-08 crop production in millions of hectares (HA) or millions of tonnes (MT).
|
|
Wheat |
Soy |
Corn |
Sunseed |
|
Agriculture Sec't |
15.4MT |
16.6HA |
|
|
|
USDA |
15MT |
47MT |
22.5MT |
4.5MT |
|
B.A. Cereals Exchange |
15.2MT |
|
3.2HA |
|
Argentina's historical production estimates in millions of tonnes, according to the Agriculture Secretariat:
|
|
Wheat |
Soy |
Corn |
Sunseed |
|
2006/07 |
14.6 |
47.6 |
21.8 |
3.6 |
|
2005/06 |
12.6 |
40.5 |
14.5 |
3.8 |
|
2004/05 |
16 |
38.3 |
20.5 |
3.7 |
|
2003/04 |
14.6 |
31.6 |
15 |
3.1 |
|
2002/03 |
12.3 |
35 |
14.7 |
3.4 |
