Argentina sees 2005/06 soya area expanding between 4 and 6 percent from last season to cover 15.0 million to 15.3 million hectares, the government said on Wednesday in its first such forecast.
The Agriculture Secretariat said soyabean area will rise due to that crop's profitability and the fact that farmers will seed soya where they were unable to plant other crops because of unfavourable weather conditions.
Argentine farmers seeded 14.4 million hectares with soyabeans in the 2004/05 season to produce a record 38.3 million tonnes. The US Department of Agriculture forecasts Argentina's 2005/06 production at 40.5 million tonnes. Farmers have just begun seeding the 2005/06 soya crop in Argentina, the government said in its monthly report.
The Agriculture Secretariat also released its first estimate of 2005/06 wheat production, putting output at between 11.8 million and 12.3 million tonnes, well below the record 16.0 million tonnes grown last season.