Sep 18, 2019
Farmers in Argentina have Planted 2.2% of their Intended Corn
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Argentina Weather - There were scattered showers across most of the agricultural areas of Argentina last week which allowed for the start of corn planting and the continuation of the sunflower planting. The forecast is calling for limited chances of rain this week with improved chances next week.
Argentina Corn - Farmers in Argentina have planted 2.2% of their intended 2019/20 corn crop with most of the planting occurring in the provinces of Santa Fe and Entre Rios. Farmers in Argentina will continue planting their corn this week especially in the central and eastern regions of the country.
The extent of the 2019/20 Argentine corn acreage is a source of disagreement among analysts. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange is estimating that the corn acreage will increase 200,000 hectares to 6.2 million hectares while other analysts estimate it will decline 200,000 to 5.8 million.
The analysts who feel the corn acreage will increase cite the trend in recent years of increasing corn production. The analysts who feel the corn acreage will decline cite the potential election of the opposition presidential candidate on October 27th, which could bring a return of higher export taxes and market intervention. I am currently estimating that farmers in Argentina will plant 5.9 million hectares of corn in 2019/20.
Argentina Soybeans - There may be a few fields of soybeans planted in Argentina, but it is certainly less than 1%. Soybean planting generally gets underway in Argentina during the month of October after farmers finish planting their corn.
Argentina Sunflowers - The sunflowers in Argentina are 32% planted, which is about 5% slower than last year.