December 31, 2003

 

 

Argentina's 2003-04 Corn 86% Planted

 

Argentina's farmers had planted 86% of the 2003-04 corn crop as of December 29, the Agriculture Secretariat

reported Tuesday.

 

The pace of planting is up seven percentage points from a week ago, but down seven points from a year ago.

 

The Secretariat estimates the size of the 2003-04 corn area 2.796 million hectares, compared with 3.084 million hectares the previous year.

 

As of Dec. 29, around 2,404,365 hectares had been planted.

 

In most areas the crop is flowering and developing well, according to the Secretariat. Moreover, the crop is in generally good shape and has not had any serious sanitary problems.

 

The Secretariat's numbers differed a bit from those provided by the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange, whose estimates include planting as of Saturday.

 

The exchange said planted area stands at 2.2 million hectares, though this does not include corn used for feed.

 

Some 88.3% of this had been planted by Saturday, according to the exchange.

 

Argentina produced 15 million metric tons of corn in 2002-03, according to the Secretariat.

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has forecast 2003-04 corn production at 13.5 million tons.

 

SOYBEANS

 

Meanwhile, as of Dec. 29 farmers had also planted 91% of the 2003-04 crop, according to the Secretariat. This is up nine percentage points from a week ago and inline with a year ago.

 

"Areas planted with first-crop soybeans are in good shape, though growth is slow because of the low temperatures of November and December," the Secretariat said. "The use of glyphosate has been very effective. At the moment, there are no major problems with plagues or diseases."

 

Soybean area is seen at 13.75 million hectares, compared with 12.6 million the previous year.

 

As of Dec. 29, some 12,528,030 hectares had been planted.

 

These numbers contrast slightly with those provided by the cereals exchange. As of Saturday, farmers had planted 89.5% of the 2003-04 soybean crop, according to the exchange.

 

The exchange sees area at 13.9 million hectares and predicts final output of over 36 million tons.

 

SUNSEED

 

Finally, by Friday farmers had planted 99% of the crop, compared with 93% a week ago. By this time last year, farmers had planted 100% of the crop.

 

As of Dec. 29, about 2,044,808 hectares had been sown.

 

The Secretariat estimates area at 2.058 million hectares, compared with 2.378 million the previous year, when Argentina harvested 3.7 million tons of sunseed.

 

"The crop continues to grow at a normal rate, benefiting from recent rain over the past few days," the Secretariat said. "Until now there have been no fungal problems. In general, the crop is in good shape despite having suffered from a lack of rain in some areas."

 

The cereals exchange has estimated planted area at 1.95 million hectares. The exchange said 98.4% of this had been planted by Saturday.

 

The USDA has forecast 2003-04 sunseed output at 3.3 million tons.