December 31, 2008

Argentina wheat forecast trimmed due to low yields

The poor yields seen in Argentina's 2008-09 wheat crop pushed the Buenos Aires Cereal Exchange to reduce its forecast to 9.3 million tonnes from 9.7 million tonnes a week ago.

Yields are down from last season "due to the lack of rainfall, high temperatures, frost in early November and decreased fertiliser use," the exchange said in its weekly crop report Tuesday (Dec 30).

Final output may be even lower as it becomes clearer how many fields were turned over to pasture or planted with other crops due to yields so low that farmers did not bother to harvest them, the exchange warned.

To date, 92.4 percent of the 2008-09 wheat harvest is complete, with average yields at a low 2.18 tonnes per hectare.