Argentine soyabean production and export estimates have been lowered as dry conditions have hit yields, AgriCensus reported on 21 April from a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report.
Output estimates were reduced by 2.5M tonnes from the last official USDA forecast following reduced rainfall, particularly in the provinces of northwestern Buenos Aires and Entre Rios, according to the 15 April report.
“Above-average rains across much of the country in January raised expectation for higher yields [but] drought returned to Argentina in early February through mid-March… [and] yields have generally trended down,” the report said.
The USDA had also downgraded exports from 6.85M to 5.5M tonnes due to “competition from Brazil and strong local crush demand”, AgriCensus wrote.
Looking ahead, the report set Argentina’s 2021/22 soyabean production estimates at 51.5M tonnes, while planted area was expected to increase by 100,000 ha.
Yields were also forecast to recover from 2.7M tonnes/ha in 2020/21 to 3M tonnes in 2021/22, despite more beans being produced as lower-yielding second crops.
Domestic crush demand was forecast to remain strong for the new crop, at 42M tonnes – up by 500,000 tonnes on the year, while export estimates were set 1M tonnes higher on the year at 6.5M tonnes. However, this figure was still below the 2019/20 level of 6.65M tonnes.
