Argentina's 2021/22 wheat harvest is now estimated at 21.5 million, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said yesterday. Previously, 21 million tons were assumed, but the yields per hectare are higher than expected.
Weather experts also said they expect rainfall in January, which will help the recently grown soybean and corn crops develop.
The Argentine wheat harvest is 78.3% complete and will end in January. The South American country is an important wheat exporter, with neighboring Brazil as the main buyer.
“The average wheat yield over the past seven days has reached 3.28 tons per hectare. The sustained improvement in yields enables us to raise our production forecast to a new record, ”says their weekly harvest report.
The exchange left its 57 million ton corn estimate and 44 million ton soybean crop estimates unchanged for the 2021/22 season. 73.3% of this year's expected soybean acreage has been tilled together so far, as well as 60.2% of the expected maize acreage.
A drought that hit large swaths of the normally fertile pampas farm belt in December should give way to rains in January, crop weather experts said.
“According to the short- and medium-term forecasts, the precipitation will not cover the demand. We're not saying it won't rain for the remainder of December, but there won't be large-scale and large-scale water supplies. “, Said German Heinzenknecht, meteorologist at the consulting firm Applied Climatology.
"We are optimistic that in January we will have more favorable wet conditions again in the eastern edge of the country - the region that needs the most water," he said.
Farmers were concerned about La Nina's climate phenomenon which usually brings drought to the pampas. But the drought associated with La Nina this season should go away by next month, said Cristian Russo, an agronomist on the Rosario Grain Exchange.
"The influence of La Nina is likely to wear off later in January, which would be very good news for soybeans and corn," said Russo.
Growers expect average to very good soy and corn harvests this season, depending on the rainfall in January.
"No matter how little the rainfall, the corn harvest will be good. If it rains a little more, it will be excellent," says Francisco Santillan, a farmer in the Granary Province of Buenos Aires.
"I'm not worried about soy either," he added. "We'll have at least an average production."
Source
Hansa Terminhandel GmbH