December 1, 2014

Two weeks before the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) official estimate is due to be released, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s bureau in Buenos Aires raised its forecast for Argentina’s soybean harvest by 3 million tons year on year to 57 million tons. The bureau raised its forecast despite numerous existing conditions that can negatively affect yields, including the country’s tax structure, its currency valuation problems, high production costs, and low commodity prices. And even though sales of certified seeds are down by 15% and farm machinery sales are down by 16%, the bureau states that there exists a ‘greater willingness to sow soybeans’, leading the bureau to release an estimate of soybean acreage of 21 million hectares – 1 million hectares higher than the official USDA calculation, and also higher than the 20.6 million hectares forecast by the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange and the 20.1 million hectares forecast by the Argentine farm ministry. The bureau also forecasts soybean exports for the third ranked exporter to be at a five-year high of 10 million tons. To read further about the progress of soybean planting in the country:

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