Argentine longshoremen on strike at the peak of summer harvests exports have scores of grains ships delayed in and around due to a three-day-old conflict that threatens to bog down shipments at a time of heightened world demand for South American soy and corn, according to industry sources.
In a decision that drew sighs of relief from the biotechnology industry, the US Supreme Court ruled that an Indiana farmer violated agribusiness company Monsanto Co’s patent for a type of soybean. The court agreed unanimously with Monsanto that Vernon Bowman, 75, had performed an end-run around the law when he used the company’s patented soybean seeds without seeking a licence.
The Rosario Chamber of Commerce estimates Argentina’s soy production at 48 million tons, which is 9.4% below the 2012/13 harvest estimate of January, 53 million tons, mainly because of a prolonged drought which extended from early December to mid February.
Uruguay exports increased 9% last year over 2011 reaching 8.751 billion dollars a numerical historic record according to the primary figures released by the Instituto Uruguay XXI, a government funded organization to promote foreign trade. Soybeans, beef and rice remain as Uruguay’s main export items.
Christmas rainstorms across Argentina further delayed soy and corn planting, keeping markets guessing about whether the grains powerhouse can produce enough this season to help bring high-flying global food prices down to earth.
Argentina's government cut this season's wheat output forecast, citing three months of heavy rains that started in August and flooded key parts of the Pampas farm belt, the Agriculture Ministry said on Thursday.
Argentine farmers will increase soy planting by almost 4% following a year of bad global crop weather. In the first soybean area estimate of the 2012/13 season, the Argentine Agriculture Ministry said 19.4 million hectares will be sown in the weeks ahead compared to 18.7 million hectares in 2011/12.
The man known in Argentina as “soybean king” said the country was facing a “new industrial revolution”, but factories now won’t have chimneys because they will really be “green factories”.
Monsanto, the world’s biggest seed company, suspended collection of royalties for its Roundup Ready soybeans in Brazil while it appeals a state court ruling on intellectual property rights.
The following piece was published by Dorvers, CattleNnetwork and refers to the agriculture potential of Latinamerica and Mercosur largest economy. The column sources are Daryll E. Ray and Harwood D. Schaffer, Agricultural Policy Analysis Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.