Argentina to plant more soy

Growers in the South American country, the third-ranked soybean exporter after the US and Brazil, will plant a record 21.0 million (m) hectares with the oilseed when sowings start this months, US Department of Agriculture staff in Buenos Aires said.

The forecast is 1m hectares above the 20m hectares or so planted last season. And it contrasts with ideas of smaller corn sowings, estimated by the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange down 10% at 3.0m hectares.

The USDA bureau forecasts that Argentina’s soybean exports will pick up to hit 10.0m tonnes in 2014-15, up 1.0m tonnes year on year and from the department’s official estimate, boosted by the extra sowings. The harvest will come in at a record 57.0m tonnes, the bureau said, 2.0m tonnes above the official USDA figure