Argentina's soya crushing fell 8 percent last year from 2008 to 29.1 million tonnes as a smaller harvest hit oil and meal output, according to the latest figures compiled by industry group CIARA-CEC. Argentina is the world's top supplier of soyaoil and soyameal and the third-biggest exporter of unprocessed beans.
December's crushing activity fell 19 percent to 1.91 million tonnes compared with 2.37 million tonnes during the same month of 2008. In November 2009, Argentine crushers processed 2.26 million tonnes of soya. In the last month of the year, crushing companies produced 366,927 tonnes of soyaoil, 1.45 million tonnes of soya pellets and 12,866 tonnes of soya expellers.
CIARA-CEC, which groups Argentina's leading grains and vegetable oil exporters, started compiling crushing data based on industry figures last year when the government stopped publishing a monthly soya processing report. Earlier this month, the chamber published incomplete crushing data for December, which was later withdrawn from its web site.
The country's 2008/09 soya harvest shrank to 31 million tonnes due to the parched conditions, Agriculture Ministry data shows, but most analysts expect record production of well above 50 million tonnes this season. The US Department of Agriculture, or USDA, sees production at 53 million tonnes.
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