By Maximilian Heath
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s weather forecast in the coming months poses a “big challenge” for soybean and corn production, with lower-than-normal rainfall due to the La Niña climate pattern expected during the region’s summer, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said.
Argentina is the world’s leading exporter of processed soybeans and the second-largest exporter of corn. Farmers are currently sowing soy and corn for the 2021/22 season.
“We are facing a climatic scenario … that poses strong challenges to production,” the exchange said in its monthly climate report posted late on Monday.
“This will need to be overcome with a sustainable farming approach and rational use of available technological resources.”
The Buenos Aires exchange expects a record corn harvest of 57 million tonnes and soybean production of 44 million tonnes.
As for 2021/22 wheat, whose harvest ends in January, the exchange raised its harvest estimate last week to a record 21 million tonnes, although it noted in its report that adverse weather could affect the cereal in the weeks ahead.
(Reporting by Maximilian Heath; Editing by Lucila Sigal and Paul Simao)
