June 8, 2004

 

 

Argentina's 2004-2005 Wheat 13% Planted

 

Argentina's farmers had planted 12.9% the country's 2004-05 wheat crop as of Saturday, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said Monday.

 

This puts the pace of collection down from about 15% a year ago, the exchange said.

 

Planted area is expected to total 6.32 million hectares, up 6.8% from 5.92 million a year ago. But the exchange said it is hard to predict exactly how much farmers will seed this year.

 

"The most recent reports indicate that planting has been delayed in center-south Santa Fe, northern Buenos Aires and in southern and eastern parts of Cordoba because of an elevated content of water in the soil," the exchange said.

 

However, "the opposite is occurring" elsewhere, according to the exchange.

 

"This scenario complicates the planting of long-cycle grains that should be planted early to ensure that they do not flourish when temperatures are high," the exchange said.

 

Moreover, the exchange said that the "constant variation" of grain prices is also complicating the seeding of the crop, as farmers try to decide which crops they should plant and in what quantities.

 

Argentina produced 14 million metric tons of wheat in 2003-04, the exchange said.

 

Production totaled 14.5 million tons in 2003-04, according to the Agriculture Secretariat.

 

The Secretariat has said that the planted area for 2004-05 will likely total between 6.3 million and 6.5 million hectares.

 

Argentine wheat usually is planted between May and August. Almost two- thirds of this is planted in the province of Buenos Aires.

 

The crop is normally harvested between October and January.