BUENOS AIRES: Rains over recent days in Argentina boosted 2021/22 soybean planting and improved conditions for the development of newly-sown corn fields, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said in its weekly crop report on Thursday. The South American grains powerhouse is the world's No. 2 corn exporter and top supplier of soymeal livestock feed.

Despite the current episode of the La Nina climate phenomenon, which usually brings dryness to Argentina, timely rains have benefited the early stages of the 2021/22 season. Over the last week, soy planting advanced 11.6 percentage points to cover 18.8% of forecasted sowing area. The exchange expects a 2021/22 soy harvest of 44 million tonnes.

"The greatest progress was made over the center of the agricultural area, driven by rains that replaced surface moisture during the last ten days," the exchange said. The earlier-planted corn fields have begun to enter into their reproductive stages "under good ground moisture conditions," it said in the report.

Corn planting is 29% complete, the exchange said, with the harvest forecasted at 55 million tonnes. Regarding 2021/22 wheat, the exchange said that the rains caused interruptions in harvesting over the last week. As of Wednesday, farmers had harvested 11.7% of the area sown with corn, with output expected at a record 19.8 million tonnes.