Argentina suspends corn exports until March to focus on domestic supply

A statement released on December 30 by the Argentine Ministry of Agriculture has announced that the country will suspend its corn exports until March 1, 2021. The measure is a government effort to guarantee a sufficient domestic supply of food. “This decision was based on the need to guarantee the supply of the grain to sectors that use it as a raw material for the production of animal protein, such as pork and chicken, eggs, milk, and cattle, in which corn represents a significant component of production costs,” according to the statement.

Argentina is a major global supplier of corn, soybeans, and wheat, and is the largest exporter of soybean meal and oil in the world.

“To date, 34.23 million tons of corn from the 2019/20 season have received export authorization, compared to 38.50 million exportable tons,” said the note. “The objective of the measure is that the remaining 4.27 million tons remain available for domestic consumption, aiming to guarantee the supply during the summer months when the availability of the cereal tends to be scarce ”, he added.

Farmers and other “players” in the corn chain in Argentina often oppose this type of intervention in the markets. “We are absolutely surprised. It makes no sense. There was never a shortage of corn in Argentina, ”said Alberto Morelli, president of MAIZAR, the country’s corn industry chamber.

Source: Reuters

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