MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina: Largest sunflower crop in six years, 4.52 m tons

Argentina's sunflower crop was greater than forecasted totalling 4.52 million tons, the largest of the last six seasons, according to Buenos Aires Grain Exchange. The total area planted was 2.636.000 hectares, with an average yield of 1.720 kilos per hectare, which is 2.5% over last year's crop.

"The best results are mainly because of an increase in the area planted (13% over June 2007) and improved yields in the main farming areas of the country, Chaco and Southeast Buenos Aires provinces, according to the Buenos Aires Weekly Farm Panorama. Regarding Argentine soy, last week harvest continued and completed 58% of the whole area planted which is 3.6 points ahead of the same time a year ago. Average yield is in the range of 2.980 kilos per hectare, 290 kilos less than the 2006/07 crop because of losses from the effects of the (La Niña) drought in the periphery areas. Last Friday 9.74 million hectares of soybeans had been harvested totalling 29 million tons of oilseed, 60% of the volume for this season that has been estimated in 48 million tons according to the Weekly Farm Panorama. The lack of rains also helped work with the corn harvest which until last Friday had completed 53.2% of the area planted with the commercial grain, which represents a 9.6 points advance over the previous week. "Extended frosts in the farm areas hit the late corn plantations and second option cereal which was in the grain maturing process", warned the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange. With 11.9 million hectares harvested so far, the average yield is in the range of 7.220 kilos per hectare, below the 8.530 kilos of the previous crop at the same time of the harvest. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange cautions that harvesting the marginal areas will bring down the average yield, which should at the end of the season be closer to 6.800 kilos per hectare, totalling 21 million tons. In related news reports from United States indicate that the price of wheat has fallen 40% from a record peak set in February on expectations of a bumper harvest. The slide could ease sky-high global food prices but analysts said it did not mean that the price of other grains like rice would fall. Soft red winter wheat on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) fell to its lowest level since November at 8.01 US dollars a bushel last Friday. It hit a record peak of 13.50 US dollar a bushel in February. Prices reached record levels as poor weather hit production and big exporters like Kazakhstan, Russia and Argentina put restrictions on wheat shipments to control domestic inflation. Demand from Asia's fast growing economies for wheat, which is used to make bread, pasta and noodles, has also pushed up prices. However, farmers have responded to higher prices by planting more of the crop, which is expected to lead to a bumper harvest this year and next. The International Grains Council has projected a record world wheat crop of 645 million tons in 2008/9.