BUENOS AIRES: Heavy rain hit Argentina's Pampas farm belt over the weekend and was expected to last until Tuesday, causing some losses to soy yields and delaying the harvest of 2013/14 beans, local crop weather analyst Leonardo De Benedictis said on Monday.
Argentina, the worlds No. 3 soybean exporter as well as its top supplier of soymeal animal feed, is expecting a record harvest of 54 million tonnes. But muddy conditions have impeded farm work, leaving some plants to rot in their fields.
"The rain over the weekend was very strong at a time when the farm belt is sensitive to too much moisture," said De Benedictis, analysts with the Clima Campo consultancy.
"The heaviest storms will come today and last until Tuesday morning," he added. "Soy plants are ready to be harvested ... but these storms have been so persistent that yield expectations have deteriorated compared with last week."
Starting on Wednesday, the Pampas should remain dry until at least Sunday, De Benedictis said. Argentina's biggest-ever soy crop was 52.7 million tonnes in the 2009/10 season, according to the government.
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