BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA – With projections for Argentina’s wheat production in the 2022-23 marketing season continuing to decline, its forecast wheat export total is forecast to fall to less than 50% of last year’s total, Reuters reported, citing the Rosario Grain Exchange.

Argentina is expected to export 7 million tonnes of wheat this year, compared to 14.5 million tonnes in 2021-22, according to the Reuters report.

An extreme drought has lowered the Rosario Grains Exchange forecast for this year’s wheat crop to 11.8 million tonnes, down from 23 million tonnes the previous year. If realized, it would be the smallest wheat crop and lowest export total since 2014-15.

Reuters noted that the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange had a slightly more optimistic outlook for the 2022-23 wheat crop, with production forecast at 12.4 million tonnes.

Argentina was the world’s sixth biggest wheat exporter in 2021-22 but is expected to fall to No. 7 in 2022-23, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).