HAMBURG, April 9 (Reuters) - Concern
is rising that Argentina’s new soybean harvest now being gathered may be
reduced by the double blow of heavy rains following drought, Hamburg-based
oilseeds analysts Oil World said on Tuesday.
“Soybean prospects have
deteriorated,” Oil World said. “There is currently a wide range of (crop)
estimates between 48 and 52 million tonnes, but we expect that the high end of
the range will soon be reduced owing to confirmation of crop losses in the
north from drought and losses in central and southern Argentina following the
recent substantial rainfall and flooding.”
Argentina harvested 39.7 million
tonnes of soybeans in early 2012. Oil World still forecasts Argentina’s 2013
soybean crop at 48.5 million tonnes.
Heavy rains interrupted soybean
harvesting in Argentina's south and central grains belt over the past week, the
Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday.
Large Argentine and Brazilian
soybean crops now being harvested are urgently needed by global consumers
following tight supplies in past months following a poor U.S. harvest in 2012
and record high soybean prices in September last year.
But South American new crop exports
are still being hampered by transport and port loading problems, despite hopes
that larger shipments were on the way, Oil World said.
“The volumes of new crop soybeans
and products from South America are still insufficient to satisfy world demand,
primarily owing to the logistical bottlenecks in Brazil,” Oil World said.
This is reflected in “surprisingly
large” weekly U.S. export sales of 392,700 tonnes reported on Apr. 4, it said.
“Importers obviously need (U.S.
soybeans) to offset part of the export delays in South America,” Oil World
said.
