Reuters – Rainfall over the last 24 hours in Argentina’s central Farm Belt and forecasts for strong precipitation in coming days is helping relieve parched corn and soybean crops, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said February 24, holding its harvest forecasts steady.
The 2021-22 soybean and corn crops have suffered from prolonged periods of drought since late last year, which has led to grains exchanges slashing forecasts, a major hit to the South American country that relies heavily on grains exports.
Argentina is the world’s largest exporter of soybean oil and meal and the second-largest exporter of corn.
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The Buenos Aires exchange said that many areas still had a shortage of water, but that a slow-moving storm front would produce several days of intermittent rainfall, with storms in some areas bringing abundant precipitation to key farming zones.
“The rains we’ve seen, along with the wet forecast for the next few days, allows us to maintain the harvest outlook,” the exchange said in a report. Its current outlook is for 42 million tonnes of soy and 51 million tonnes of corn.
The National Meteorological Service reported rains of between 15 and 50 millimetres (0.59 to two inches) since February 23 in the Argentine agricultural nucleus, where plants were in key stages of development and the drought has been more aggressive.
Argentina farmers have already completed planting soybeans and corn, with most plants now in important stages of yield development. Argentine producers have already started harvesting some early batches of corn due to the drought.
