October 20, 2022

 

Poor rain in Argentina compound difficult start to country's grain crops

 

Key crops like wheat and corn are likely to have a challenging start to the season due to the sparse and patchy rain that is forecast for Argentina's major breadbasket regions, as drought conditions remain, Reuters reported.

 

German Heinzenknecht, a CCA consultancy meteorologist, said rains are only forecast for the northern parts of the fertile Pampas region later this week, while it's likely that there won't be any rain at all in important farming regions like the northern Buenos Aires and southern Santa Fe provinces.

 

The parched farmlands of the nation received only about 0.2 inches (5 mm) of rain late last week, with sporadic showers producing 0.8 inches (20 mm), according to Heinzenknecht.

 

He said rain is much more in demand.

 

The dry weather coincides with the crucial wheat harvesting months of November through January, when the crop for 2022–2023 will be gathered, for wheat farmers.

 

Argentina is a major supplier of grains to the world, and farm exports also provide the government of the nation with vital funding in times of financial hardship.

 

Forecasts for crops had to be revised downward once more last week as a result of dry conditions that date back to May.

 

A senior analyst at the important Rosario grains exchange saiid the 2022–2023 wheat harvest will probably total 16 million tonnes, down by 500,000 tonnes from the organization's previous official forecast.

 

Separate wheat crop estimates were released by the Buenos Aires grains exchange (BCR), which predicted a harvest of 16.5 million tonnes rather than the previously anticipated 17.5 million tonnes.

 

The BCR also noted late last week that some areas' insufficient soil humidity had already delayed the planting of corn. According to the exchange, eight million hectares, or 90% of them, will be cultivated with late corn, which is less fruitful than early corn.

 

Official data showed only about 16% of the corn crop for 2022–2023 has been planted thus far, which is just a little more than 12 percentage points less than what was planted at the same time last season.

 

-      Reuters