Argentine corn is enjoying better-than-expected yields, thanks to weather conditions that have done less damage to the grain than to rival soy crops over recent months, farmers on the Pampas agricultural belt said.

Corn and soy are Argentina’s two main cash crops. The 2020/21 soy harvest recently ended. Farmers are still bringing in corn, and say they have been pleasantly surprised by yields.

Corn suffered less than soybeans from the less-than-normal rains that fell on the Pampas during the Southern Hemisphere summer, said David Hughes a grower in the bread-basket province of Buenos Aires.

“So corn yields were better than expected. Closer to our 5-year average,” he added.

Argentina is the world’s No. 3 corn exporter and top supplier of soymeal feed, used to fatten hogs and poultry from Europe to Southeast Asia. The South American grains powerhouse is also a wheat exporter, mostly to neighboring Brazil.

The Rosario grains exchange expects a 2020/21 soy crop of 45 million tonnes and a 50 million tonne corn harvest. There may be room on the upside for corn, if reports of good yields are confirmed, Emilce Terre, lead analyst at the Rosario exchange.

July is the main month for harvesting late planted corn in Argentina, “so we will see what happens over the weeks ahead,” Terre said.

“Prospects are good,” she added. “In the province of Cordoba, especially, there are areas that are very good.”

Buenos Aires grower Francisco Santillan said he expected corn yields in line with averages in good years. Low temperatures in the last month helped corn, but not soybeans, he added.

“Corn is a crop that responds well to cool nights. That was the determining factor,” he said. “Soy prefers a higher temperatures. Cool nights slow it down.”
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Richard Chang)