September 21, 2004

Argentina's 2004-05 Corn 6.7% Planted As Of Friday
 
As of Friday, Argentina's farmers had planted 6.7% of the 2004-05 corn crop, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said Monday. This puts the pace of planting down a bit from 9% a year ago at this time.
 
However, farmers are expected to plant 2.45 million hectares of commercially tradable corn, up 10% from 2.23 million a year earlier. The total area of corn for growth for all purposes is expected to reach 3.15 million hectares, the exchange said.
 
"Dry conditions led to slow planting progress in center-north parts of the Pampas region," the exchange said. "The delay was caused by a lack of surface-level soil moisture that is starting to spread from northern Cordoba and Santa Fe toward center-south areas of both provinces."
 
As of Friday, farmers had planted 163,7000 hectares.
 
Argentina produced 13.1 million tons of corn in 2003-04, according to the exchange. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has forecast 2004-05 Argentine output at 15.5 million tons.