The US Planting Areas Reportwhich for the first time projects the planting of this spring that is beginning in the northern hemisphere, confirmed the enormous impact that the price of fertilizers is having on the decision-making of producers.
There will be more soy than corn, something completely unusual. This is what will happen in a spring in which 36.83 million hectares are expected to be planted with soybeans and 36.22 million with corn. While the oilseed gains 1.54 million hectares, corn loses a similar area 1.56 million hectares.
For its part, in wheat there is a slight gain in area from a very low sowing that will make stock recovery difficult.
The foreseeable consequence of this report released on Thursday was a jump in the price of corn and a sharp drop in the price of soybeans. In the oilseed, the Chicago references were finally below US$ 600 per ton for the first position and for the July position.
More is still being paid for soybeans from Nueva Palmira than for references from Chicago, but even so, the oilseed has lost US$60 since the offers that reached US$660 were made to references that after this report from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) landed above $600.
The advantage of legumes in terms of symbiotic nitrogen supply has been decisive in the decisions of US farmers.
2022/23 seems to be better supplied with soybeans and with very firm prices for wheat and corn, which translates into higher production costs for meat and dairy.
On the other hand, Russia announced the ban on the export of sunflower from April 1 to August 31 and the quotation of grain sunflower exports from April 15 –also until the end of August–, a period in which no more than 1.5 million tons can be exported.
While, Uruguay continues to get closer to a large soybean harvest that will be harvested as of April 15, and that will be located at just over three million tonsbut with lower prices than expected two weeks ago.
The oilseed that maintains full firmness is rapeseed, more linked to the oil industry than soybeans and whose price remains sustained above US$ 700 per ton. The planting of this oilseed will once again be a record, showing how in a few years less than 10,000 hectares have gone to more than 200,000, repeating in winter what soybeans experienced as a summer crop 20 years ago.
john samuel
Corn crop.
