Argentine farmers made quick progress on the 2012/13 corn harvest during the last week, thanks to dry climate conditions, and also advanced with 2013/14 wheat seedings, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday. The South American country is a leading global exporter of corn, soyabeans and wheat and is the top supplier of soyaoil and soyameal.
By Thursday, farmers had gathered 66.3 percent of the 3.7 million hectares (9.1 million acres) seeded with commercial-use corn, rising 5 percentage points from a week earlier but still lagging last season's harvest pace by 1.3 points, the exchange said in its weekly crop report. The grains exchange held its outlook for corn production at 24.8 million tonnes, which is slightly lower than the agriculture ministry's forecast for 25.7 million tonnes.
In the meantime, farmers have seeded 30 percent of the 3.9 million hectares estimated for planting with 2013/14 wheat. This marks a 10.6 percentage point increase in the last week and a 4.7 point gain on last year's sowing tempo. Soya farmers are nearly done harvesting the 2012/13 crop, which the exchange estimates at 48.5 million tonnes, well below the government's forecast of 50.6 million tonnes.
Averages soyabean yields stand at 2.56 tonnes per hectare, the exchange said. By Thursday, farmers had harvested 99 percent of the 19.7 million hectares seeded with soya, rising 1 percentage point from last week and edging out last season's pace by 2.2 points. The US Department of Agriculture forecasts Argentina's 2012/13 soya production at 51 million tonnes, 2012/13 corn output at 26.5 million tonnes, and its 2013/14 wheat crop at 13 million tonnes.
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