CANBERRA, April 17 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures on Wednesday hovered above four-year lows as a strengthening dollar made U.S. beans less competitive in a market awash with cheap supply from South America.

Wheat and corn edged higher on market open after Ukraine, an important supplier, projected a drop in grain production this year, although both contracts were near their lowest levels since 2020 due to ample supply.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.1% at $11.46-1/4 a bushel, as of 0040 GMT, but prices have fallen nearly 4% this month and are nearing February's four-year low of $11.29.

* CBOT wheat shed early gains to dip 0.1% to $5.64-1/4 a bushel, while corn rose 0.2% to $4.31-3/4 a bushel.

* The dollar has soared since last week, rising on Wednesday to its strongest level since Nov. 1 against a basket of currencies and making U.S. farm goods costlier for importers.

* U.S. suppliers face stiff competition for global export sales from South American corn and soy and Russian wheat.

* Speculators on the CBOT are betting on lower prices for all three crops and were net sellers again on Tuesday, traders said.

* Oilseeds lobby Abiove raised its estimate for Brazil's 2023 soybean production and its beginning stocks for this year, underscoring ample supply.

* Brazil is the world's biggest soybean exporter. While it expects a slightly smaller harvest this year, Argentinian production is likely to increase.

* In other crops, Ukraine's farm ministry said the country's grain harvest would likely fall to about 52 million metric tons this year from 58 million tons in 2023, mostly due to a smaller expected sowing area.

* The ministry forecasts a harvest of 27 million tons of corn, 19 million tons of wheat and 5 million tons of barley this year, compared with around 28 million tons of corn, 22.5 million tons of wheat and 5.9 million tons of barley in 2023.

* Wheat production in Germany and France is also likely to decline this year, according to data and estimates.

* But flooding in Russia has not significantly disrupted the work of agricultural companies, the country's agriculture minister said. Russia is the world's top wheat exporter.

* The lowest free-on-board offer presented at an Egyptian state purchasing tender for wheat on Tuesday was $218.90 a ton for 60,000 tons of Ukrainian wheat, traders said.

* In corn, the estimate for the second harvest in Parana state, the second-largest producer in Brazil, will likely be cut in the next revision, an official at crop agency Deral said.

* Crop consultant Michael Cordonnier, meanwhile, said he had cut his Argentine corn production estimate by 3 million metric tons to 50 million metric tons due to corn stunt disease spread by leaf hopper insects.

MARKETS NEWS

* Wall Street see-sawed to a mixed close on Tuesday as rising U.S. Treasury yields and elevated geopolitical worries counteracted a generally positive string of first-quarter corporate results.

(Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)