This year's soybean and corn harvests in Argentina – poised to rebound sharply after last season's drought – may be even bigger than previously thought.
Farmers benefiting from El Niño-induced rains will harvest 52.5 million metric tonnes of soybeans in the second-quarter crop, up five percent from the previous estimate, according to a weekly report from the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange. They are also on track to harvest a record 56.5 million tonnes of corn, 2.7 per cent more than previously forecast.
Argentina is usually the world's largest exporter of soybean meal and oil. Its shipments may influence not only the trading of benchmark futures in Chicago, but also the chances that the new president, Javier Milei, can turn around an economy mired in crisis. This is because oilseed sales account for about a quarter of Argentina's total foreign exchange earnings.
The South American nation is also the third-largest supplier of maize.
Analysts warned that soybean fields will need more rainfall over the next few weeks, a crucial time in the plant's development, to maintain the projection.
by Jonathan Gilbert, Bloomberg
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