Argentina soybean harvest accelerates on dryer weather

: Agriculture
25/04/25

Argentina's soybean and corn farmers are eager to speed up harvesting and boost crop sales after lagging behind last year's pace in recent weeks, market sources said.

Soybean growers took advantage of favorable climate conditions in the past week to accelerate their work in the fields, and hoped-for dryer weather in coming days should help them make up for lost ground.

The soybean harvest advanced 9.6 percentage points in the week through 23 April, but that still left the harvest only 14.5pc finished and 11 percentage points behind last year's progress in the same period. Harvesting in corn fields was bogged down by still-swampy field conditions and moved ahead by only 1.7 percentage points in the week.

The next week should see rainy weather in some agricultural areas over the weekend, followed by several days of sunny or overcast weather, according to Argentina's National Meteorological Service. That should allow both harvests to jump forward in the week.

Farmers look for sales opportunity

Argentina's farmers are anxious to harvest and sell their crops as quickly as possible, partly because they need to raise cash to pay debts, analysts said.

Some growers also need to free up storage space for the incoming soybean and corn crops, which should also spur sales.

The Argentinian government's decision to loosen the restrictions on peso trading starting on 14 April led to a sharp drop in farmers' sales in the first few days following the rule changes while farmers waited for currency market turmoil to subside.

Market observers have noted an uptick in sales since then, partly because the new peso rules eliminated an exchange rate band that was unfavorable for producers, offering them an immediate increase in income even after the peso strengthened.

More wheat

Farmers in Argentina's main grain-producing region around the city of Rosario are planning to boost the area planted with wheat by at least 10pc, according to a recent survey by the Rosario Board of Trade (RBT).

Economic and soil conditions are favorable for wheat at the moment, which should encourage more growers to plant the grain, and if the weather is also favorable, the country could produce a record wheat crop in 2025-26, the RBT said.

By Jeffrey T. Lewis

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