October 1, 2008

 

Argentina's August corn exports down 27 percent, soy up 54 percent

Argentina exported 1.38 million tonnes of corn in August, down 27 percent from the 1.89 million tonnes shipped in August 2007, according to the latest data from the animal and food-inspection agency, Senasa.

 

However, corn exports during the first eight months of the year reached 12.67 million tonnes, up from 11.49 million tonnes during the same period a year ago.

 

The Argentine government stopped accepting new corn export declarations two weeks ago, as the calculated surplus from the 2007-08 crop has been sold, according to the agricultural trade office ONCCA.

 

The government has already approved the export of about 14 million tonnes of corn this year from a total 2007-08 crop of 20.5 million tonnes.

 

Domestic need for this year was pegged at 6 million tonnes.

 

ONCCA has not yet started accepting export declarations for the 2008-09 corn crop. Planting recently commenced, with production estimated at 19 million tonnes, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

 

Meanwhile, soy shipments in August totaled 2 million tonnes, up 54 percent from 1.3 million tonnes during the same month a year earlier, Senasa said.

 

August soy exports were valued at US$810 million.

 

Soy shipments during the first eight months of the year totaled 9.1 billion tonnes, up from 6.6 billion tonnes during the same period a year ago.

 

China was, by far, the largest destination for soy exports, buying 7.3 billion tonnes from January through August.

 

Soymeal

 

Soymeal exports in August totaled 1.4 million tonnes, up from 1.3 million tonnes a year earlier.

 

Soymeal exports during the first eight months of the year reached 8.2 million tonnes, down from 8.8 million a year earlier.

 

Spain was the leading destination for Argentine soymeal during the first 8 months of the year, followed by the Philippines, Holland, Indonesia, Italy and South Africa.

 

August soy pellet and cake exports doubled on-year and totaled 337,063 tonnes, compared with 159,151 tonnes in August 2007. Soy pellet and cake exports during the first 8 months of the year totaled 1.8 million tonnes, up from 1.6 million tonnes a year ago.