BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Intense rains in recent days in Argentina’s main agricultural region have improved wheat expectations for the 2023/24 cycle, with planting set to begin in the coming days, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange said on Wednesday. (BDC), which estimated the grain harvest at 18 million tons.
The rains are crucial for Argentine farmers to start planting grain, after a historic drought that lasted nearly a year left the rich soil of the moist pampas depleted of water.
In its weekly crop report, BDEC said, “The arrival of rains improves the prospects of phina (wheat and barley crops).”
According to the National Meteorological Service (SMN), up to 75 millimeters of rain fell in the past 24 hours alone in the agricultural center of Argentina, one of the worst-hit by the recent drought.
In turn, the agro-meteorological report on Wednesday from the Grain Exchange indicated that the region is likely to receive between 10 and 25 mm of rain in the coming days.
Argentina is a major world exporter of wheat and harvested only 12.4 million tonnes of the grain in the 2022/23 season due to severe water shortages.
Soy and corn
Meanwhile, rains have delayed 2022/23 soybean and corn harvest operations, said the BDC, which forecast harvests for both crops at 21 million and 36 million tonnes, respectively.
According to the unit, local producers have harvested 78.2% of soybean acreage and 26.6% of corn acreage.
Argentina is the world’s leading exporter of soybean oil and meal, and the third largest in corn. However, both the crops were also hit by drought. Soybean harvest in the 2021/22 season was 43.3 million tonnes and corn harvest was 52 million tonnes.
