BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Rains that have slaked Argentina’s drought-hit farmlands have allowed soil moisture to recover and 71% of the area planned for wheat harvesting has now been planted under fair water conditions, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday.
This marks a dramatic turnaround from last season, when the worst drought on official records hit Argentina’s agricultural heartland and halved the cycle’s wheat harvest to just 12.4 million metric tons, according the exchange.
“Collaborators have reported optimal crop planting” across both Argentina’s northern and southern agricultural cores, the exchange said in a weekly report, adding that 91.2% of the 6 million hectares estimated for the 2023/24 cycle have already been planted.
On Wednesday, the exchange had said more rains early next week should continue to favor the wheat crop’s development.
Farmers have meanwhile harvested 66.1% of the area planted with Argentina’s 2022/23 cycle’s corn crop, it added in Thursday’s report, with a stable average yield of 4.97 metric tons per hectare.
This should yield an estimated 34 million metric tons, the exchange said, accounting for impacts of the drought.
Argentina is a major global supplier of wheat and the third largest international exporter of corn.
(Reporting by Maximilian Heath; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Josie Kao)
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