Argentina's biggest grains exchange slashed 5 million tonnes from its forecast for the country's drought-damaged soya crop on Thursday, helping push US futures to a five-month high. Weeks of dry weather battered young soya and corn crops in the South American country. The Rosario grains exchange also trimmed its forecast for corn production, to 19.8 million tonnes from 21.4 million tonnes a month ago.
The country's soya harvest should come in at 44.5 million tonnes, the exchange said, down from the previous outlook for 49.5 million tonnes, as the extent of drought damage becomes clearer in the world's No 3 soyabean exporter. "The losses are significant in main producing provinces, especially Cordoba," an exchange report said, estimating the average yield at 2.4 tonnes per hectare.
Rosario's downbeat forecast - as well as a weaker dollar - pushed soyabean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade higher. Argentine crop problems may signal more export demand for US supplies, traders said. Corn crops were even harder hit than soyabeans by the parched weather in Argentina, the world's No 2 corn supplier after the United States.
Argentina gathered a record 23 million tonnes of corn last season, according to government data. Soya production was 48.9 million tonnes. Another leading grains exchange, Buenos Aires, held its crop forecast estimates again this week at 46.2 million tonnes for soya and 21.3 million for corn, saying showers over the past week had brightened the outlook for soyabeans.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.