Iran made major imports of Argentine soy-oil and soybeans between July and September as Iranian buyers found methods of making payments in the face of western sanctions, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said on Tuesday.
Uruguayan farmers are planning to sow 1.105.000 hectares of crops this coming 2012/13 summer season, which is similar to last year’s of which 890.000 hectares or 80% will be dedicated to soybeans.
A leading international consultant on grains and oilseeds estimates that Argentina’s soy crop could increase 38% to 56 million tons in 2013, a year when world supply will become more dependent on South America because of smaller inventories in countries such at the US and China.
Soybean prices again climbed on Tuesday in Chicago reaching a historic record of 650.74 dollars the ton, boosted by investors’ purchases fearing limited supplies because of the worst drought in the US in the last five decades.
US and European wheat futures gained again on Thursday as importers took advantage of a price fall earlier in the week and as operators continued to anticipate Russia would drop out of export markets in the coming months due to drought-hit supply.
Mercosur farmers in Brazil and Argentina are forecast to plant more soybeans for harvesting this season in response to higher prices, at the expense of wheat and corn sowing, according to Oil World. Paraguay and Uruguay Agriculture ministries have also anticipated an increase in the soybeans planted areas.
Trade with China for Argentina has great opportunities but also great threats because the Asian giant is only interested in produce with no added value, warned the head of Argentina’s Industrial Union, Ignacio De Mendiguren.
Brazil will reap a record grain harvest of 163.3 million tons this year, a gain of two per cent over 2011, the IBGE statistics agency says. The IBGE's latest forecast, based on July data is 1.6% higher than the previous projection.
Meat producers in Brazil's Mato Grosso do Sul state are lobbying the government to approve soy imports from neighbouring Bolivia after drought shrank supplies in the world's second grower, a state official and analysts.
The world could face a food crisis of the kind seen in 2007/08 if countries restrict exports on concerns about a drought-fuelled grain price rally, the UN food agency FAO warned, after reporting a surge in global food prices in July.