BUENOS AIRES, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Argentine growers have planted 46 percent of the 19.6 million hectares (48.4 million acres) expected to be sown with soybeans in the 2016-17 season with the country’s central farm belt enjoying good growing conditions, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday.
Soybean planting advanced 12.3 percentage points over the previous seven days, the exchange said in its weekly crop report. Despite the quick advance in recent days, sowing was 8.4 percentage points behind the previous season’s pace.
“The beans that have already been sown in wide parts of the central agricultural region are in good condition,” it said.
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“Rains that have fallen over the last week have recharged ground moisture levels in the south-west, central and northern farm belt, while south-eastern Buenos Aires province has not been able to reverse its moisture deficit,” the report said.
In absolute numbers, 9 million hectares of 2016-17 soy has been planted so far, it said, adding that 43.3 percent of the 4.9 million hectares expected to be sown with 2016-17 corn have been planted so far.
The wheat harvest is ongoing.
The exchange expects Argentina to produce 12.5 million tonnes of wheat. So far, farmers have harvested 28.9 percent of the 2016-17 wheat crop, the report said, warning that the dryness in southeast Buenos Aires could hurt production.
