Dry weather is affecting Argentina's 2008/09 corn harvest, pushing yields lower, the Agriculture Secretariat said on Friday. Argentina is the world's No 2 corn exporter, after the United States, but this season's crop has been hit by persistent dry weather.
Lower yields are being seen in Buenos Aires and Sante Fe provinces, the No 2 and 3 corn producing regions, the government report said. By Thursday, Argentine farmers had harvested 91 percent of the 3.5 million hectares sown with 2008/09 corn, advancing 1 percentage point from a week earlier and beating last year's tempo by 7 points.
The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange forecasts the 2008/09 corn harvest at 12.7 million tonnes, down from 21 million tonnes last season, while the US Agriculture Department foresees Argentine output of 13 million tonnes.
SOYA, WHEAT Argentina's 2008-09 soybean harvest is nearing its end, after the crop also suffered from months of dry weather. By Thursday, farmers had gathered 98 percent of the harvestable soy plants seeded on 17.1 million hectares, advancing 1 percentage point from a week earlier and 1 point ahead of last season's pace. In Buenos Aires province, the No 2 soy-growing region, the harvest is virtually finished, the government said.
Humid conditions in the Santa Fe and Entre Rios provinces, the No 3 and 4 producers, have slowed the harvest. Argentina is the world's No 3 soybean supplier and its top exporter of soymeal and soyoil. Production is seen plunging from the 46.2 million tonnes grown in the 2007/08 crop year.
The secretariat has not yet released a forecast for 2008/09 soy production, but the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange predicts a crop of 32 million tonnes, while the USDA estimates output of 34 million tonnes. Continued dry weather also has slowed planting of the 2009/10 wheat crop in many areas, the report said.
Persistent dry conditions have led to a sharp reduction in the outlook for wheat area in Argentina, one of the world's leading wheat exporters. "Rains registered last week weren't enough to revert the situation in the biggest part of the wheat-growing region," the government said.
The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange has forecast farmers will seed just 3.2 million hectares with wheat in the upcoming season, down 18.6 percent from last season. The USDA forecasts Argentina's 2009/10 wheat production at 11 million tonnes, above the 8.4 million tonnes grown in 2008/09 but well below the 16.8 million tonnes produced in the previous season, when weather conditions were favourable.