Rains forecast to fall in the next two weeks could speed up wheat sowing in key areas of Argentina, where the 2008/09 campaign has been delayed by dryness, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Friday. The world's No 4 wheat supplier, Argentina produced 15.3 million tonnes of wheat last season, according to the grains exchange.
"Although there's not much time left to sow wheat, the rains forecast for the next two weeks could help with plantings in Santa Fe, Entre Rios and parts of Cordoba," the grains exchange said in its weekly crop progress report, referring to three of the top four wheat-growing provinces.
If no rain falls, the grains exchange said it will further cut its estimate for the size of wheat area. By Friday, farmers had planted 46.7 percent of the 4.8 million hectares estimated for planting this season, gaining 9.8 percentage points from a week earlier but still lagging last year's sowing pace by 10.3 points. If this wheat area were confirmed, it would be the smallest in 15 years. Dry conditions, along with soaring fertilizer costs and anger with government policies, have dampened interest in wheat.