Argentina lowers its wheat planted area prediction

Date:08-20-2012

The Ministry of Agriculture of Argentina decreased on Thursday its prediction for the wheat planted area in the coming season of 2012/13. The expected amount went from 3, 82 million hectares to 3, 7 million hectares, which reduced even more the crop perspectives.
 
The South American country is the sixth biggest wheat exporter of the world, but is the most important wheat supplier to its neighbor country Brazil.
 
Due to commercial issues, the designated area for planting had decreased 20% already. "There was pratically no rainfalls in July, which made impossible to finish seeding the entire area originally planned ", says the Ministry.
 
Producers, however, complain about the government intervention on the grains market, which reduced the wheat profitability and made them planting more soybean and corn. In the 2011/12 season the Argentinean farmers planted 4, 63 million hectares of wheat and the harvest gave a production of 13, 19 million tons.