April 26, 2012

Argentina's late soy crops save from frost damage

Predicting the imminent arrival of the southern hemisphere winter with a series of frosts swept across Argentina's southern farm belt this week but largely sparing the late soy crops from significant damage.

Farmers have harvested close to half of the 2011-12 soy crop. Virtually all of the fields have reached maturity and aren't vulnerable to frost any more, said Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange crop analyst Esteban Copati.

"There don't appear to have been significant losses from the frosts," Copati said.

Argentina leads global soyoil and soymeal exports and ranks third in soy exports. Global soy prices got a lift this year due to the mediocre crops from both Argentina and Brazil.

Yields from Argentina's soy crop are disappointing in many fields due to drought in December and January that affected early plantings and led many farmers to put off soy planting until late January. As a result, the short growing season for much of the crop trimmed potential output, Copati said.

Early in the season many analysts had predicted 2011-12 soy output to top the 49 million tonnes grown last season, but now most local forecasters are talking about production of around 43 million tonnes.

In the south central area of Buenos Aires province near the rural town of 25 de Mayo, vast fields of soy are losing their leaves and being harvested at a feverish pace as farmers rush to get the pods in from the fields before they open and seeds start to drop.

"Even the late-planted soy is ready...they're not very vulnerable to frost anymore," agricultural engineer Gerardo Salgado of farm services company Aibal said of the fields near 25 de Mayo.