MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguayan grains and oil seeds 2010 crop reached a record 12.7 million tons

Soybeans as in other Mercosur members is the main crop

Paraguay summer and winter crops in 2010 totalled 12.688.908 tons establishing a new record according to agronomist Luis Cubilla from the Agriculture Biotechnology Institute. The last best harvest was in 2008 with 10.5 million tons.

The crops include soy, corn, wheat, rice, canola, sunflower and sesame. Soybean leads with 7.376.651 tons, which anyhow was slightly below the estimate of 7.5 million tons.

Corn totalled 3.071.033 and 84.000 tons first and second harvests. The area planted with maize also increased from 545.000 in 2009 to 647.042 hectares.

Wheat yields improved in 2010 since the area planted was down to 538.936 hectares, from 564.000 in 2009, but the crop increased from 1.2 million tons to 1.442.598 tons.

Cubilla attributed the fall in wheat area to the lower prices in 2009.

The sunflower harvest was 257.726 tons and rice, 315.350 tons.

However sesame area and production declined from 100.000 hectares in 2009 to 69.500 this year and a total harvest of 39.963 tons.

Regarding oats, production totalled 493.965 tons and canola doubled to 63.446 tons.

Finally Cubilla said that Paraguay can be proud of its agriculture and contribution since the 12.6 million tons are sufficient to feed 50 million people during twelve months.

Landlocked Mercosur member Paraguay has a population of 6.3 million.