BAGE says Argentina soy planting hits 63.5%, warns of production cuts

Argentina farmers have planted 63.5% of the expected harvest, up 10 percentage points in a week, but 3 percentage points behind last year as planting has been hampered by a lack of surface moisture, according to data from the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange.

The exchange, whose weekly reports are watched by the market, said it expects over the coming days a storm to provide moisture in the north and centre of Argentina’s producing regions, but warned if that did not happen, then it may revise downwards the expected area to be sown.

“(Such) regional adjustments of surface will impact on our current projection national area occupied by the crop,” the report said.

The exchange expects 18.1 million hectares to be planted, of which only 11.5 million hectares have been sown, with the condition of the crop said to “vary between good and very good depending on area”.

Half of the remaining area to be planted is expected to be completed in the next two weeks, meaning the weather will be crucial to planting rates and the eventual size of the crop.

Argentina is the world’s third biggest exporter of soybeans after Brazil and the US, although it exports around half of the world’s soymeal.

The lack of rain has also hit sowing of corn, although 45.3% of the 5.4 million hectares are already in the ground, 5.9 percentage points more than last year and on a marginally bigger area.

The wheat harvest reached 58.3% at a yield of 2.79mt per hectare with an estimated crop of 17 million mt.