BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA — The harvest projection for Argentina’s withering 2022-23 soybean crop will be cut yet again by the Buenos Aires grains exchange, which cited prolonged drought and a recent heatwave, Reuters reported.
The crop’s current outlook by the exchange stands at 38 million tonnes, down from the 48 million tonnes expected at the start of the season, but the exchange did not provide a new estimate for the harvest.
The exchange cited above-average temperatures over the past seven days, which have exacerbated dry conditions at a critical stage in the current soy crop’s development. The areas most impacted are in Argentina’s key farming region as well as other parts of the Santa Fe and Entre Rios provinces.
Argentina’s worst drought in six decades, which in some areas dates back to May of last year, has forced farmers to delay planting this season’s soy crop. Argentina is the world’s top exporter of processed soy, but the US Department of Agriculture expects lower exportable supplies on smaller production and crush.
In its January Oilseeds and Products update for Argentina, the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the USDA projected 2022-23 soybean production at36 million tonnes, down markedly from the 42 million tonnes estimated for 2021-22. Additionally, the FAS sees soy crush for 2022-23 at 36.5 million tonnes, down from the 38.25 million estimated for 2021-22.
