BUENOS AIRES: Argentine farmers have sold 12.45 million tonnes of 2020/21 soybeans, after registering transactions in a week for 552,500 tonnes, the Ministry of Agriculture said late on Wednesday in a report with data for the season up until March 17.

The soybean harvest for the current campaign is expected to be around 44 million tonnes, according to the Buenos Aires grains exchange, hit by late-season drought. The government has not yet made a production estimate for the crop.

The ministry pointed out that the speed of soy sales is slower than a year earlier, when at the same date it had registered soybeans sales of 17.45 million tonnes. The soy harvest in the 2019/20 season was 49 million tonnes.

With 2020/21 corn, farmers have sold 19.6 million tonnes, 1.5 million tonnes less than at the same point a year ago, according to official data. The Buenos Aires grains exchange is forecast a corn harvest of 45 million tonnes.