Argentine soybean yields are running 25 percent lower than a year ago, with harvest complete on 4.3 percent of 14.4 million hectares sown to the 2003/04 crop, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange said on Monday.
In its weekly crop report, the exchange put yields at 2.17 tonnes per hectare compared to 2.89 tonnes last year. It also said the pace of the harvest was 6 percentage points lower than a year ago due to a lack of rainfall.
Weather-related problems have sparked speculation about the 2003/04 harvest in Argentina, the world's third-largest soybean producer after the United States and Brazil.
The start of the harvest in the production heartland of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe and Cordoba provinces improved the national average output. Before that, harvest had been centred in the northern growing areas.
Last week, the government estimated the harvest would total 34.7 million tonnes, compared with 34.8 million tonnes last year but well below the 38 million tonnes projected by the US Department of Agriculture in November.
The exchange estimates a harvest of 34.5 million tonnes.
"The outlook for the next few days indicates a dry climate, not at all favourable for second (late) plantings in the central region," the exchange said.
The bolsa said rain is forecast for next week in Santa Fe, Buenos Aires and southern Cordoba provinces.
Corn farmers have harvested 23.7 percent of the 2.2 million hectares seeded for 2003/04, with yields of 6.84 tonnes per hectare compared with 7.2 tonnes in the previous season.
The government estimates Argentina will harvest 12.4 million tonnes of corn, well below the 15 million tonnes produced last year.
Farmers have harvested 52.3 percent of the 1.9 million hectares seeded with sunflower seeds, according to the exchange.
The exchange and the government both expect the sunseed harvest to reach 3.4 million tonnes this season.
Some 3.7 million tonnes of sunseeds were produced in 2002/03.