January 13, 2023

Argentina exchange sharply cuts soy, corn harvest due to worst drought in decades

Argentina's Rosario Grains exchange sharply cut its forecast for the country's 2022/23 soybean harvest from 49 million tonnes to 37 million tonnes, as Argentina faces its worst drought in 60 years, Nasdaq reported.

The exchange also reduced its forecast for the 2022–2023 corn crop from 55 million tonnes to approximately 45 million tonnes.

Argentina is the third-largest exporter of corn in the world and the top exporter of soybean meal and processed oil.

The estimated 37 million tonnes of soybeans would represent Argentina's third worst soybean harvest in the previous 15 years, and the situation is likely to get worse, according to the exchange.

Without imminent help from significant and widespread rainfall, the exchange warned that losses could soar in planting areas, particularly those involving late-planted soybeans.

Only 16 million hectares of soybeans were sown in Argentina, which is 1.1 million hectares less than expected, according to the exchange.

The exchange said it also had to lower its estimate for the planting area of corn in 2022–2023 from 7.9 million hectares to 7.3 million hectares.

The report blamed serious sowing issues, stunted growth in late batches, and enormous production losses in early-planted corn for the lower-than-anticipated harvest.

-      Nasdaq