MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Oil World forecasts fall in global 2007/08 soybean harvest

The global 2007-08 soybean harvest is likely to fall by eight million tons on the season to 227.61 million tons, according to forecasts from Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World.
This would be below the 2007/08 global forecast consumption of 237.90 million tons, up from an estimated 227.36 million tons in 2006-07.

The Oil World's crop forecast in million tons follows: United States 77.6 (2007/08) against 86.77 (2006/07); Brazil 61.5 (2007/08) and 59 (2006/07); Argentina 46.2 (2007/08) and 47,2 (2006/07), and China 15 and 15.9 million tons. "This year and probably again in 2008, soybeans will be losing acreages to wheat and corn, not only in the US but also in South America and China" added the report. "This can partly be compensated by an increasing total planted area in Brazil and Argentina." It added: "The fight for acreage in the US and also in other countries will intensify for the 2008 crops. In the US some relief will come from acres released out of the conservation reserve." The world market's dependence on South American supplies of soybeans and products will increase in 2008, it said. But the crop in key producer Argentina was forecast to fall by one million tons, as excellent yields in this year's harvest were unlikely to be repeated and farmers may turn away from soybeans. "With more emphasis on grains and sunflower seed in Argentina, there is a relatively high risk that soybeans will be the losers when it comes to plantings of the crops for harvesting in early 2008," it said.