MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay soy crop reached 1.5 million tons with average yield of 1.788 kilos

Wheat is expected to be the great performer this winter

Soybean was king of corps in Uruguay last summer with 1.5 million tons planted in 862.000 hectares and with an average yield of 1.788 kilos per ha, according to the latest data from the country’s Agriculture Statistics Office, DIEA.

Summer crops totalled almost a million hectares (976.700) which was 16% below original estimates because last year’s summer dry spell.

However areas planted with corn and sorghum contracted a bit more than soybeans, which is attributed to the fact that with the lack of water they were turned over to cattle grazing.

Nevertheless corn retained an area similar to the three previous crops which signalled a recovery after a recurrent loss of interest by farmers.

Regarding sorghum the area planted and harvest was down compared to the previous crop.

As to winter crops this year, the area planted is estimated by DIEA in 655.700 hectares, which is 33% over last year. This means the area dedicated to wheat is expected to expand by 137.000 hectares, 34% above the 2010 winter.

However the main leap in area planted refers to barley, up 55%, although it must be pointed out that last year’s crop was the smallest in the last ten years.