Argentina’s upcoming wheat harvest could be close to a record high

Argentina’s upcoming wheat harvest could approach the record set in the 2021/22 season, the Rosario grain exchange said Wednesday, pegging the estimate for 2024/25 at 21 million metric tons.

The exchange said the crop sowing itself could be a record, with an estimated area of 6.92 million hectares.

“A stressed soil profile, good profitability and the need to rotate (crops) in the central and northern parts of the country following cicada impacts are giving wheat planting a boost,” the exchange said in a report.

In recent months, crops have been decimated by cicadas insects, which are carriers of bacteria that cause stunted plant growth, Reuters reported.

“After half of the corn crop is harvested, cicada damage will begin to show later in the season,” the report said.

The bourse on Wednesday maintained its estimate of the current corn crop at 47.5 million tons, but warned there could be a reduction on the horizon.

Meanwhile, as the soybean harvest came to a close, a smaller-than-expected planted area was offset by increased production, leading the exchange to maintain its crop estimate at 50 million tons.

Tags: crop forecast, wheat, Argentina