Argentina's soyabean harvest to be less than 50 million tonnes

Argentina could harvest fewer than 50 million tonnes of soyabeans in the 2017-18 crop year the lead analyst at the Rosario grains exchange told Reuters on Wednesday, as a prolonged drought looks set to continue harming yields. No significant rains are expected in the next 10-12 days, threatening a crop already reeling from hot, dry weather in recent weeks, said Emilce Terre, the exchange's head of research. That will likely prompt a reduction to the exchange's current harvest estimate of 52 million tonnes, she said.
"50 million tonnes is looking more and more like a ceiling," Terre said. "We had been talking about 52 million tonnes, and we will definitely be revising that number." Drought in the central Pampas grains belt in Argentina, the world's No. 3 exporter of raw soyabeans and the top shipper of soya oil and soya meal has pushed up soyabean futures prices on the Chicago Board of Trade in recent weeks.
Last week, the Buenos Aires grains exchange reduced its estimate for the 2017-18 soya harvest to 50 million tonnes from 51 million tonnes previously, while the US Department of Agriculture slashed its outlook to 54 million tonnes from 56 million tonnes previously. "There might be some very light isolated rains, but that will not reverse the situation," Terre said. "The rest of February will continue without significant amounts of rain." The Rosario exchange's next monthly crop report is expected next week.