Argentina will produce a record 46.7 million tonnes of 2006/07 soyabeans, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange said, raising its forecast due to higher yields in northern farming areas. In its weekly crop progress report, updated to Friday, the exchange said farmers had already gathered more soya than they did during all of last season, with productivity levels up 14.5 percent.
The grain exchange had previously forecast soya production at 46 million tonnes in Argentina, the world's No 3 soyabean exporter and top soyaoil and soyameal supplier. "It's estimated that at the end of the harvest this campaign will exceed last season's record crop by 5.7 million tonnes, or 12 percent," the report said.
Yields nationwide average 3.06 tonnes per hectare as farmers make strong progress on harvesting in more marginal growing provinces such as Chaco and Santiago del Estero.
Wet weather has helped boost yields in those areas, the report said. By Friday, farmers had gathered 85.1 percent of harvestable lands on the 16.1 million hectares seeded with soya. This marked progress of 6.3 percentage points from a week earlier. The Argentine Agriculture Secretariat forecasts a record soyabean harvest of 45.2 million tonnes, while the US Department of Agriculture foresees a slightly higher 45.5 million tonnes.