December 29, 2004

Argentina's 2004-05 Wheat 62% Collected As Of Friday

Argentine farmers had collected 62% of the country's 2004-05 wheat harvest by Dec. 24, according to the Agriculture Secretariat on Tuesday.

Farmers had already collected 3,676,160 hectares, while 178,302 hectares have been lost because of bad weather, disease or other problems, the Secretariat said.

Total wheat area stands at 6.24 million hectares, according to the Secretariat. This is up from 6.04 million hectares a year earlier.

According to the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange, collectible area totals 6.09 million hectares. As of Monday, farmers had collected 53%, putting production at 8.16 million tons as of Dec. 24, according to the exchange. The exchange estimates that farmers will harvest 16.35 million metric tons of 2004-05 wheat. This estimate is based on the assumption that average yields will total 2.73 tons/hectare, up from the previous week's estimate of 2.69 tons/hectare and 11% greater than that of the 2003-04 season, the exchange estimated.

The US Department of Agriculture has forecast Argentina's 2004-05 wheat output at 15 million tons. According to the secretariat, Argentina produced 14.56 million tons of 2003-04 wheat.