17th Aug 2012, by Mike Verdin
Agrimoney
Argentine barley exporters, set to become world leaders, are registering shipments at the pace of 300,000 tonnes a week for fear of the grain following biodiesel in attracting increased levies.
Merchants such as Glencore, Louis Dreyfus and Toepfer between the start of July and last Friday booked 1.79m tonnes of barley for export licences – more than the country had ever shipped in a single year until last season.
The surge in registrations comes amid talk that Argentina, which as of Saturday raised to 32% from 20% its levy on biodiesel shipments, is to increase its duties on barley shipments too, to cash in on a surge in export.
Argentina's barley are to jump to a record 4.2m tonnes in 2012-13, allowing the country, historically a small trader in the grain, to overtake Australia as the top shipper.
'Negative impact on farmers'
The rumours were confirmed to Agrimoney.com by market-watchers including Michael Cordonnier, at Soybean and Corn Advisor, who has close contacts in South America.
"The government is certainly looking for ways to increase its income," he said.
While Dr Cordonnier had not heard mention of a rate, RMI Analytics, the malting barley consultancy, said that market rumour suggested a relatively small figure, of about 3-5%.
Nonetheless, while this would be "an additional income for the government, it will have a negative impact on farmers, who will end up paying most of the increased export costs".
Farmers will furthermore lose out because Argentina's grain commission has raised by $40 per tonne to $280 per tonne for feed barley, and to $290 per tonne for malting barley, the reference price on which the tax is based.
'Sounds like a challenge'
The extent of the exports booked – which given 2011-12 supplies have run out are viewed as mainly for 2012-13 crop - implies a severe burden for Argentina's ports.
New crop supplies will only start coming onstream from December, while the export licences give permission for only 180 days, implying they will lapse within two months of the new crop appearing.
Handling large quantities of barley exports in such a limited period "sounds like a challenge, and will require good logistics and preferably no strikes", Swiss-based RMI said.
Argentina's soaring presence in barley reflects a mass switch by farmers from wheat, which has lost popularity because of tight export restrictions designed to guarantee domestic supplies, but which in limiting foreign competition for the grain curb returns for growers.
Argentina's farm ministry on Thursday cut to 3.7m hectares, from 3.82m hectares, its forecast for domestic wheat sowings in 2012-13 – down 20% year on year and the lowest in decades.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, the lowest Argentine wheat area figure in record going back 50 years is 3.701m hectares, in 1970-71 – and that is on a harvested, rather than planted, basis.
Agrimoney
Argentine barley exporters, set to become world leaders, are registering shipments at the pace of 300,000 tonnes a week for fear of the grain following biodiesel in attracting increased levies.
Merchants such as Glencore, Louis Dreyfus and Toepfer between the start of July and last Friday booked 1.79m tonnes of barley for export licences – more than the country had ever shipped in a single year until last season.
The surge in registrations comes amid talk that Argentina, which as of Saturday raised to 32% from 20% its levy on biodiesel shipments, is to increase its duties on barley shipments too, to cash in on a surge in export.
Argentina's barley are to jump to a record 4.2m tonnes in 2012-13, allowing the country, historically a small trader in the grain, to overtake Australia as the top shipper.
'Negative impact on farmers'
The rumours were confirmed to Agrimoney.com by market-watchers including Michael Cordonnier, at Soybean and Corn Advisor, who has close contacts in South America.
"The government is certainly looking for ways to increase its income," he said.
While Dr Cordonnier had not heard mention of a rate, RMI Analytics, the malting barley consultancy, said that market rumour suggested a relatively small figure, of about 3-5%.
Nonetheless, while this would be "an additional income for the government, it will have a negative impact on farmers, who will end up paying most of the increased export costs".
Farmers will furthermore lose out because Argentina's grain commission has raised by $40 per tonne to $280 per tonne for feed barley, and to $290 per tonne for malting barley, the reference price on which the tax is based.
'Sounds like a challenge'
The extent of the exports booked – which given 2011-12 supplies have run out are viewed as mainly for 2012-13 crop - implies a severe burden for Argentina's ports.
New crop supplies will only start coming onstream from December, while the export licences give permission for only 180 days, implying they will lapse within two months of the new crop appearing.
Handling large quantities of barley exports in such a limited period "sounds like a challenge, and will require good logistics and preferably no strikes", Swiss-based RMI said.
Argentina's soaring presence in barley reflects a mass switch by farmers from wheat, which has lost popularity because of tight export restrictions designed to guarantee domestic supplies, but which in limiting foreign competition for the grain curb returns for growers.
Argentina's farm ministry on Thursday cut to 3.7m hectares, from 3.82m hectares, its forecast for domestic wheat sowings in 2012-13 – down 20% year on year and the lowest in decades.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, the lowest Argentine wheat area figure in record going back 50 years is 3.701m hectares, in 1970-71 – and that is on a harvested, rather than planted, basis.
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