Soya Again Down In Paraguay

By Scott C. Lucas|13 April 2006

For the third straight year, drought has limited Paraguay’s production of soybeans, dashing hopes of a comeback crop, reports the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service (USDA-FAS).

The drought, which began shortly after planting and lasted into December, affected a large portion of the country’s soybean area. The dryness made conditions more difficult for farmers who were forced to plant less-than-ideal seed, since Paraguayan varieties were severely limited due to last year’s drought.

Grow-out of Paraguayan Roundup Ready (RR) varieties was affected again this year due to dryness, forcing producers to either plant non-RR Paraguayan varieties or risk planting Argentine or Brazilian RR varieties. Since foreign varieties are not suited to the Paraguayan climate or growing seasons, they may not reach their potential yields if faced with adverse weather conditions.

USDA-FAS predicts that the soybean area for 2006/07 will be 2 million hectares (Ha), which is expected to produce 4.6 million metric tons of soybeans.