March 18, 2004

Argentina 2003-04 Soybean Output Seen At 34.7 Million MT

Argentina's farmers will produce 34.7 million metric tons of soybeans in 2003-04, the Agriculture Secretariat estimated Wednesday in its monthly crops report.
 
This estimate is below expectations from last month, when Secretariat sources said unofficially that production would total between 35 million and 37 million tons.
 
The new estimate would put production down slightly from last year, when it totaled 34.8 million, according to the Secretariat.
 
This despite that fact that planted area for soybeans is now estimated at a record 14.1 million hectares, up from 13.95 million last month and up from just 12.6 million a year ago.
 
"The climate has been very disparate among the distinct (soybean producing) regions," the Secretariat said. "The rains have been very heterogeneous, which causes the crops to vary greatly in each area and this makes it very difficult to quantify their productivity."
 
Farmers are just now beginning to harvest the 2003-04 soybean crop, according to the Secretariat. But the first yields encountered so far in northern parts of Cordoba have been "very low," the Secretariat said.
 
"In the main soybean area, rainfall between November 2003 and March of 2004 declined between 40% and 50% compared to a year ago," the Secretariat said. "Obviously, this has a direct impact on yields and production. In Chaco and Tucuman, the rains have also been insufficient, meaning we cannot expect good yields in these regions."
 
"Because of this, we expect soybean production to hover around 34.7 million tons," the Secretariat said.
 
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated 2003-04 Argentine soybean production at 36.5 million tons.
 
The Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange has put 2003-04 output at 34.5 million tons.