Argentina crop export revenues could fall 23% after drought

Argentina’s drought-stricken crops could bring in 23% fewer export dollars this season versus a year earlier, the Buenos Aires grains exchange said in a report on February 14.

For much of the last year, Argentina’s worst drought in sixty years has delayed planting and withered crop outlooks, making life ever harder for farmers in a country where inflation nears 100%.

The agriculture sector’s export revenues from the 2022/2023 harvest are expected to fall to $33.39 billion, the exchange said.

Recent rains brought some relief to parts of Argentina’s agricultural regions, but the risks are far from over, the exchange said, adding that the drought could trim $3.31 billion from the government’s strained tax intake.

“The impact could be even greater if rainfall does not return to normal in the remainder of the season and if the risk of early frosts becomes real, given the delays in planting progress,” the report said.

As recently as September, the exchange had forecast the soybean crop at 48 million tonnes and corn at 50 million tonnes, a sign of the drought’s toll.

Source: Reuters

To read the original reporting, access: https://www.reuters.com/article/argentina-grains/argentina-crop-export-revenues-could-fall-23-after-drought-idINL1N34U220

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