Argentine farmers have sold 30.5 million tonnes of soybeans from the 2020/21 crop, after registering sales over a seven-day period of 495,300 tonnes, the Ministry of Agriculture said .
The sales volume of one of Argentina’s main crops lagged that of the previous season, when by the equivalent point some 32.2 million tonnes of the oilseed had been traded, the ministry said in a report with data through Sept. 22.
The 2020/21 soy harvest in Argentina ended in June at 43.1 million tonnes, according to the Buenos Aires grains exchange, compared with 49 million tonnes in the 2019/20 season.
Soy is a major driver of export dollars needed to replenish central bank foreign currency reserves strained by a three-year recession exacerbated last year by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Buenos Aires exchange estimated the coming 2021/22 soy crop, which will start to be sown in October, at 44 million tonnes.
The ministry also said sales of 2020/21 corn had reached 40.9 million tonnes, 3.7 million tonnes more than sales registered at the same time last year.
The exchange estimates 50.5 million tonnes of corn were harvested in the 2020/21 season and expects a record 55 million tonne crop for the 2021/22 season. New season corn planting started in September.
Argentine farmers have sold a total of 7 million tonnes of 2021/22 wheat, with the harvest starting in November, the government said. The Buenos Aires exchange estimates the new wheat crop at 19.2 million tonnes.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Agustin Geist; Writing by Maximilian Heath; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)