In Spain, traders estimated 80 per cent of maize harvesting in the western Extremadura region was completed, and crop collection was moving to Aragon in the northeast of the country. They said maize harvesting had begun in Albacete in the southeast and work there would accelerate in coming days.

Traders quoted new crop Extremadura maize ex-store at 23,700 pesetas per tonne this week, against 23,750 last week. According to the latest Spanish Agriculture Ministry estimates, maize production will drop to 3.5 million tonnes in 1999 from 4.26 million in 1998. In Portugal, the maize harvest in the Ribatejo was about 70 per cent completed, and in the Alentejo, further south, about 85 percent of the work had been carried out, traders said.

Traders quoted new crop Alentejo maize at 27,500 escudos per tonne this week, against 27,200 last week. Portugalproduced about 9,00,000 tonnes of maize last year, of which some 600,000 went to the grain market and 3,00,000 tonnes were consumed locally at farms. Both Spain and Portugal are net importers of maize. Winter wheat sowing in both Spain and Portugal had benefited from recent rains and favourable temperatures, traders said. "Winter wheat sowing has started well due to recent rains, which will benefit planting," one trader said.