Argentina braces for record corn harvest as farmers turn away from soybeans

Argentina could report record corn production in the 2025/26 season as farmers shift away from soybeans and other crops, a leading grain exchange said Wednesday.

The Rosario grain exchange forecasts a corn harvest of 61 million tonnes, assuming sufficient rainfall during the growing season.

The exchange, however, sees soybean plantings falling 7% year-on-year to 16.4 million hectares, with production expected to reach 47 million tonnes.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange also forecast a decline in soybean acreage, albeit to a lesser extent, estimating a 4.3% drop to 17.6 million hectares, mainly due to farmers favoring other crops such as corn and sunflowers, adding that soybean profitability remains low or even negative in some regions.

According to Rosario, Argentina’s previous record corn crop was 52.5 million tonnes in 2023/24.

The exchange said its record forecast is dependent on normal rainfall during the crop’s development period. Current weather models indicate a low probability of El Niño or La Niña in the summer in the south of the country, a favorable outlook for corn yields.

Sowing of corn for the 2025/26 crop has already begun, while soybean planting will begin in late September and October.

Rosario also raised his estimate for the nearly finished 2024/25 corn crop to 50 million tonnes, up from 48.5 million last month. Argentina is the world’s third-largest corn exporter and the world’s leading supplier of soybean oil and meal.

Tags: Argentina, sown area, crop forecast, corn, soybean