April 13, 2004

Argentina's 2003-04 Soy Crop 31% Collected

Farmers in Argentina had collected 30.9% of the 2003-04 soybean crop by Saturday, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said Monday.
 
The pace is down from a year ago at this time, when farmers had harvested 35.1% of the crop. However, last year's crop measured only 12.8 million hectares while this year's planted area stands at 14.34 million hectares, according to the exchange.
 
As of Saturday, farmers had harvested 4.43 million hectares of soybeans, putting production thus far at 11.05 million tons.
 
The average yield last week was 2.49 tons per hectare, down from 2.98 tons a year ago at this time.
 
Yields are down mainly because the crop suffered from an extended drought earlier this year, the exchange said. Rainfall has been lower this season, which has been particularly damaging to crops grown in nontraditional areas where soil quality is worse than in the main soybean-producing regions located in central Argentina, the exchange noted.
 
The exchange said recently that because yields vary so much across the country, it is too difficult to forecast 2003-04 production.
 
However, in February the exchange estimated production for this year at around 34.5 million metric tons. This would put output down slightly from 35.27 million in 2002-03.
 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture last week estimated 2003-04 soybean production at 35 million tons.
 
Many local analysts believe the crop will not surpass 34 million tons.