Breaking News-Argentine soy sowing lags due to drought - gov't

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Dry soils forced Argentine farmers to halt soy sowing this week in many parts of the farming belt, the Agriculture Secretariat said in a weekly crop progress report on Friday.
The secretariat estimates a record soy area of 18.1 million hectares (44.7 million acres). By Thursday, it said 42 percent had already been sown, 8 percentage points more than the prior week but still lagging last season's pace by 3 points.