The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange (BdeC) sharply cut its estimates for the 2022/23 soybean and corn crops on Thursday, to 33.5 million and 41 million tonnes, respectively, due to the impact of a drought. , high temperatures and recent early frosts.
The figures are lower than the 38 million and 44.5 million tonnes that the entity expected for soybeans and corn respectively. And they are well below the 48 million and 50 million tonnes that had been forecast at the start of the campaign in September.
However, agricultural production has since been devastated by a historic drought in the South American country, a key global supplier of food, added in recent weeks by a heat wave and early frosts while many plants are still developing yields.
“The early frosts on the western edge of the agricultural zone combined with the absence of precipitation and the heat stroke recorded at the beginning of this month reduce our estimate to 33.5 million tonnes”, indicates the BdeC, in its weekly report crops.
On the other hand, with regard to 2022/23 maize, the Bourse has indicated that although it has made a significant adjustment in its harvest calculation for the cereal, it has not yet analyzed the negative impact that the recent heatwave and frosts have had on the crop. productivity. .
“The impact that the frost and the heat stroke generated on the productive potential of the late sowing of the cereal remains to be assessed”, he explained.
The drought that has shaken the Argentine agricultural sector is, according to the Rosario Stock Exchange, the worst in the last 60 years. According to BdeC, the 22/23 wheat harvest, which has already been completed, was 12.4 million tonnes, almost half of the 22.4 million produced in the previous cycle. (Reporting by Maximilian Heath; Editing by Walter Bianchi)