Argentina's 2010/11 soya harvest is seen steady at 47.0 million tonnes, while the outlook for corn was held at 19.5 million tonnes, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday in its weekly report. Argentina is the world's No 3 soyabean exporter, and severe dryness linked to the La Nina weather anomaly prompted analysts to lower their forecasts for the harvest earlier this season, pushing up prices in international grain markets.
Rains over the last month, however, have brightened production prospects. While some localized dryness has persisted, most of the soya crop now has sufficient ground moisture, and harvest expectations have steadied despite further dry weather forecast for this week. The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said the recent dryness has hindered late-planted soya, which is still in a sensitive growth phase and could contribute to the loss of flowers and pods. But moderate-to-heavy rainfall is expected next week over the north and center-west of Argentina's main farming region, the exchange added.
Argentina is also a leading global corn supplier, although corn crops have been harder-hit by La Nina because the parched conditions were at their worst when plants were passing through the crucial, yield-setting pollination stage. The US Department of Agriculture cut its outlook for Argentine soya to 49.5 million tonnes last week from 50.5 million tonnes in January. It also reduced the Argentine corn estimate to 22.0 million tonnes from 23.5 million tonnes the prior month. Argentine Agriculture Ministry officials have cut their soya estimate to under 50 million tonnes from 52 million tonnes at the start of the season.
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