More Argy Bargy
There is a large question mark hanging over the size soybean & corn production in Argentina this season.
After going into the ground during a severe drought which decimated wheat production, heavy rains fell late February. Since then we have had a return to hot & dry conditions, fooling crops into early maturity and potentially reducing yields further.
It is very strange then, is it not, that we have got very little official information coming out of Argentina as to the potential size of this season's crops.
An Agriculture Secretariat report due to be released on March 18th simply hasn't been published. The director of the department that produces the report, Mario Camarero, has been sacked. Daily newspaper Clarin says that the release of the report has been deliberately blocked.
All this coming at a time when the government is locked in dispute with farmers over the controversial soybean export tax.
Remember this is a government who say that inflation in the country is running at around 10%, when analysts reckon it is nearer 30%. Other key data on industrial output and economic growth from the national statistics agency Indec is also "questionable" experts say.
The government deny any wrong-doing or manipulation, saying that they have simply altered the way that data is collated.
Critics say that they are deliberately withholding information in an attempt to manipulate the market. There has been no official report on grains & oilseed stocks since Oct 1st, and no figures on export sales commitments since June 2008.
Yet the official state agency ONCCA, which took over crop administration duties from the Agricultural ministry last year, requires that all grain movements must be faxed through to their office by farmers or traders on a daily basis.
I smell a rat.
After going into the ground during a severe drought which decimated wheat production, heavy rains fell late February. Since then we have had a return to hot & dry conditions, fooling crops into early maturity and potentially reducing yields further.
It is very strange then, is it not, that we have got very little official information coming out of Argentina as to the potential size of this season's crops.
An Agriculture Secretariat report due to be released on March 18th simply hasn't been published. The director of the department that produces the report, Mario Camarero, has been sacked. Daily newspaper Clarin says that the release of the report has been deliberately blocked.
All this coming at a time when the government is locked in dispute with farmers over the controversial soybean export tax.
Remember this is a government who say that inflation in the country is running at around 10%, when analysts reckon it is nearer 30%. Other key data on industrial output and economic growth from the national statistics agency Indec is also "questionable" experts say.
The government deny any wrong-doing or manipulation, saying that they have simply altered the way that data is collated.
Critics say that they are deliberately withholding information in an attempt to manipulate the market. There has been no official report on grains & oilseed stocks since Oct 1st, and no figures on export sales commitments since June 2008.
Yet the official state agency ONCCA, which took over crop administration duties from the Agricultural ministry last year, requires that all grain movements must be faxed through to their office by farmers or traders on a daily basis.
I smell a rat.
