March 31, 2006

 

Argentina's corn, soybean prices up on-week

 

 

Argentina's soybean and corn prices closed higher Thursday (Mar 30) compared with the previous week as demand from exporters and local millers outweighed the supply to push prices up.

 

Cash soybeans sold for ARS505 (US$163.90) per tonne at the Rosario Cereals Exchange, up from ARS495 a week ago.

 

The Exchange said 50,000 tonnes of cash soy were sold Thursday, up from 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes a week earlier.

 

May soy futures sold for US$163/tonne, up from US$162 a week ago. Around 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes were sold.

 

"The soybean harvest is going well," said a trader in Buenos Aires. "Some farmers are harvesting on the one hand and storing their soy in silo bags on the other, so the supply is a bit tight. In fact, the supply of all grains now is somewhat tight.

 

"Local consumption of corn is pretty strong, which is combining with export demand to sustain prices," the trader added.

 

Farmers had collected 10.5 percent of the 2005/06 soybean crop by March 25, according to the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange.

 

The US Department of Agriculture has forecast Argentina's 2005/06 soybean crop at a record 40.5 million tonnes while the Agriculture Secretariat sees output at 39.5 million tonnes.

 

As of March 28, Argentina had sold 10.164 million tonnes of 2004/05 soybeans for export, Secretariat data show. Sales of 2005/06 soybeans totalled 2.388 million tonnes by the same date.

 

 

Corn

 

Cash corn sold for ARS245 per tonne Thursday in Rosario, up from ARS235 a week ago.

 

Some 10,000 tonnes of cash corn were sold Thursday, up from 8,000 a week ago.

 

Corn futures for April delivery went for US$79/tonne, up from US$77 the previous week.

 

Farmers had harvested 20.3 percent of the 2005-06 corn crop by March 25, according to the Buenos Aires Exchange.

 

The USDA has forecast Argentina's new corn harvest at 15.5 million tonnes.

 

The Secretariat sees it at 13.9 million.

 

Last season good weather and solid prices led farmers to harvest a record 19.5 million tonnes of corn, according to the USDA. The Secretariat says output last season totalled a record 20 million tonnes.

 

The Buenos Aires Exchange says farmers have planted 15.2 percent less corn than a year ago. It sees planted area at 2.23 million hectares, down from 2.62 million hectares the previous season.

 

As of March 23, Argentina had sold 14 million tonnes of 2004/05 corn for export, up from 11.16 million tonnes a year earlier, Secretariat data show, unchanged from a week ago.