March 12, 2012

The local Agriculture Ministry said on Friday (Mar 9) that farmers have begun harvesting the 2011/12 soy crop in Argentina.

A drought earlier in the season cut soy output estimates by about 10% and slashed the outlook for corn by nearly 30%, although rains that began falling in mid-January later brought relief.

Argentina's government estimates the soy crop at between 43.5-45 million tonnes. This compares with the 46.2 million tonnes foreseen by the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange and the Rosario exchange's estimate of 44.5 million tonnes.

In southern Santa Fe, which is the No. three soy-producing province, the government said the harvest of early-seeded soy began slowly and that grain quality was poor with yields hovering near three tonnes per hectare.

Gathering began as well in some parts of Cordoba province, the No. two soy producer, with yields of between 1-2 tonnes per hectare, the government said in its weekly report. The ministry said if rainy weather continues in farming areas that are already moist, this could hamper the harvest.

With regard to the corn crop, which the government forecasts at 20.5-22 million tonnes, recent rains have continued improving the condition of late-seeded plants. Argentina is the world's No. two corn exporter after the US.

Farmers are gathering corn in Cordoba province, where many plots are in bad shape and yields have ranged widely from between 1.5-10 tonnes per hectare. The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange forecasts corn output of 20.8 million tonnes while the Rosario exchange predicts production of 19.8 million tonnes.

Sunseed farmers are also harvesting their crop and by Thursday, they had picked 38% of the 1.89 million hectares (4.67 million acres) planted with 2011/12 sunflowers. The government estimates production of 3.7 million tonnes.