Rain in parts of Argentina's wheat belt this week allowed farmers to progress with sowing that has been delayed by parched soils, the Agriculture Secretariat said on Friday.
In its latest weekly crop progress report, the government said 2008/09 sowing had been finished in the districts of Pergamino and Lincoln in Buenos Aires province, which accounts for about 60 percent of Argentine wheat production.
"Thanks to the moist conditions of the past week, the wheat seedlings have emerged very well and are growing at a good rate," the secretariat report said. By Thursday, farmers had planted 60 percent of the area forecast for wheat, advancing 9 percentage points from a week earlier but still lagging last year's tempo by 16 points. Farmers have been able to speed up sowing due to damper weather in the last few weeks, but drought is still dampening expectations for the wheat area.
Rains also fell in parts of Cordoba and Santa Fe province, the second- and third-biggest wheat areas, but dry soils elsewhere continued to hamper planting and early development.
The government expects farmers to dedicate 4.9 million hectares to wheat this season, the smallest area in years. Argentina - the world's No 4 wheat exporter - has not yet forecast 2008/09 wheat production, but the US Department of Agriculture sees output of 14.5 million tonnes, down from 16 million last season.
SOY, CORN HARVESTS Meanwhile, the corn harvest limped toward its conclusion with dryer weather helping in parts of No 2 producer, Buenos Aires province. Harvesting has already finished in Cordoba, the biggest corn-growing region, and only a few plants remained to be gathered in No 3 region Santa Fe.
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