Argentina corn and soy outlooks take hit after heat wave

Argentina’s Rosario grains exchange cut its estimates for the country’s 2023/24 soybean and corn harvests on Wednesday to 49.5 million and 57 million metric tons, respectively, due to a heat wave in late January and early this month.

The exchange has previously calculated the soybean harvest at 52 million tons and the corn harvest at 59 million tons.

Argentina is among the world’s top two exporters of soy oil and meal, and the no. 3 global exporter of corn.

A period of higher-than-usual temperatures that began on Jan. 17 left the corn crops with less-than-ideal water levels, the exchange said, despite rains that offered some relief the second week of February.

Argentina’s corn crop is however projected to hit a record level this season, even after the heat wave’s impact.

The exchange stipulated that it was “very important” that the cornfields receive more rain in coming days to secure the crop’s recovery and sustain the season’s potential.

Argentina’s critical soybean crop was also impacted by the “very long and severe heat wave” that hit farmlands “at a very sensitive time for early soybeans.”

Argentina’s agricultural Pampas region is expected to receive rainfall in the coming days, though the bulk of this should land in the northern partof the country’s agricultural heartland, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Wednesday.

Farmers in Argentina have already planted their soybeans and corn for the current season, which should see harvests begin in April.

Tags: corn, soybean, crop condition, Argentina