Argentina soy harvest in central zone could be lowest in 14 years

Argentina's 2021/22 soybean harvest in the country's important core farming region is set to fall to its lowest level in 14 years, the Rosario grains exchange said in a report on Friday, a reflection of how drought is hitting grains in the country.

Argentina is the world's leading exporter of soybean oil and meal, the no. 2 exporter of corn and an important wheat grower.

However, the country has been hit by drought in different farming regions since December, forcing the Rosario exchange to cut sharply its estimate for nationwide soy production to 40.5 million tonnes, from an initial 45 million tonnes.

The exchange said that in the important core farming zone the harvest of the oilseed would be 12.4 million tonnes, due to the impact of the dry weather, which it said was the lowest in the last 14 years.

In that core region where 4.45 million hectares were planted with soy, the exchange said that there are 2 million hectares in regular condition and 670,000 in a bad condition, of which 185,000 are already considered lost.

"That amounts to around 30% of expected production lost," it said, citing its cut to 12.4 tonnes for the soy harvest forecast from the 17.7 million tonnes it estimated in October.

The Rosario exchange said that while moderate to heavy rains are expected in the core belt over between Saturday and Monday, with over half of plants in fair-poor condition "it is very likely that negative adjustments will continue".

The exchange previously also sharply adjusted its forecast for corn production due to lack of rain, to 48 million tonnes from its initial 56 million tonne forecast.

The exchange said that a higher than usual number of farmers are harvesting corn crops early in Argentina's key agricultural zone and "yields obtained up to now are not at all promising."