By Hugh Bronstein and Maximilian Heath
BUENOS AIRES, Jan 18 (Reuters) – Argentina’s 2021/22 wheat season produced a record 21.8 million tonnes of the grain, blowing past the country’s previous all time high harvest of 19 million tonnes in the 2018/19 crop year, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said in a report on Tuesday.
The harvest, which ended this month, came in 2.8 million tonnes higher than the exchange’s initial estimate thanks to rains that, while scarce, were distributed evenly and in time to bolster yields, it said.
The national average yield was 3.44 tonnes per hectare, or 21.9% higher than the previous season and 11.5% better than the average over the last five years, the exchange said.
The harvest should generate exports worth a record $4.5 billion and tax revenue of $1.45 billion. Argentina needs cash as it exits recession and negotiates a new program with the International Monetary Fund.
“The wheat chain should continue on a growth path, considering its good performance over recent years,” the exchange said.
Argentina is a major wheat exporter, especially to neighboring Brazil. It is also the world’s second biggest corn supplier and the top exporter of soymeal livestock feed used to fatten hogs and poultry from Europe to Southeast Asia.
Dryness has been a concern, but heavy rainfall brought relief to Argentina’s main agricultural areas over the weekend, interrupting several weeks of dry weather that led the Rosario grains exchange to trim forecasts for soybean and corn production.
The Rosario exchange last week cut its 2021/22 corn crop forecast to 48 million tonnes from 56 million tonnes due to a recent heat wave. The soybean crop was estimated at 40 million tonnes, down from a previous forecast of 45 million tonnes.
The Buenos Aires exchange sees Argentina’s 2021/22 corn crop at 57 million tonnes and soy at 44 million tonnes.
(Reporting by Hugh Bronstein and Maximilian Heath; Editing by David Gregorio)
(([email protected]; 5411 4318 0655; Reuters Messaging: [email protected]))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
www.nasdaq.com