The Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Monday that recent heavy storms could cause “significant losses” to Argentina’s 2024/25 soybean crop in the northwestern province of Buenos Aires, and indicated it could reduce its forecast.
The exchange currently estimates the soybean crop at 50 million metric tons. However, it said in its report that heavy rains could further delay the already slow harvest. In addition, there is a risk of damage to the plants.
The stock exchange reported the impact of the storms in a report. According to the document, 730,000 hectares of soybeans have not yet been harvested in the province of Buenos Aires, in the northwest of the country.
“This region had already suffered the impact of the rains in March,” the exchange said, adding that, due to this threshing, production was about 15 percentage points below that recorded the previous year. “Therefore, new rains could generate significant losses.”
Argentina is the world's largest exporter of soybean oil and soybean meal and the third largest exporter of corn.
In recent days, heavy rains have dumped up to 400 millimeters of water on fields and highways, flooding some cities in the province of Buenos Aires and forcing residents to evacuate their homes.
The Buenos Aires and Rosario grain exchanges predict that more rain will hit the affected areas in the coming days.
The Rosario stock exchange said in a report that it expects new rains for next weekend, especially on Saturday. “The time it takes to drain the excesses could influence the magnitude of the production damage.”
Source: Maximilian Heath, Gabriel Araujo and Kylie Madry | Notícias Agrícolas
