MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay expects record harvest of wheat; soybean becomes the main crop

In the last decade Uruguay has seen the plantation of soybeans and wheat soar

Uruguay’s is expecting a record wheat crop for the second year running in 2009 while the barley harvest is forecasted as the largest in the last ten years according to the Statistics Office from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.

Winter crops area was estimated in 721.000 hectares of which 546.000 with wheat (70.000 more than last year), increasing steadily since the 2006/07 harvest. To find similar areas planted with wheat Uruguay must look back over thirty years, 1976/77 when 543.000 hectares were sown.

The estimated crop will be above 1.8 million tons, an all time record and for the second year running. The yield: 3.336 kilos per hectare is also a historic record.

Barley covered 140.000 hectares, 8% more than the previous crop and the largest area in the last ten years. Yields so far are in the range of 3.294 kilos per hectare, second to the 2006/07 crop record.

However late spring and early summer rains have slowed down some of the harvesting and according to a quick poll from the Statistics Office, 13% of wheat farms and 8% of barley plantations have suffered delays in the harvesting because of excess humidity.

Meanwhile summer crops in Uruguay this season are estimated to cover a million hectares, 30% higher than last year, with soybeans taking the highest share, 848.000 hectares, which makes it the main harvest of the country. The soybean area has been increasing steadily since 2000/01.

Corn is expected to increase the area planted for the fourth year running, the largest in the last ten years, which makes it the second most important summer crop. Sorghum on the other hand is expected to see a considerable drop in the area planted while sun flower with 12.000 hectares forecasted, continues as an oil seed of which farmers have been loosing interest since 2002/03.