BUENOS AIRES: Argentine farmers have brought in 70.6% of their 2020/21 soy crop with an average yield of 2.8 tonnes per hectare, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Thursday, with harvesting propelled over recent weeks by ideal weather conditions.

Lack of rain has allowed harvesting machines to move swiftly over fields with no risk of getting bogged down in mud.

“Weather conditions favour the advance of harvesting over much of the area planted with soybeans,” the exchange said in its weekly crop report. It left its 2020/21 soybean crop forecast unchanged at 43 million tonnes.

“The strongest advances were seen in the provinces of Cordoba, northern La Pampa and western Buenos Aires,” it said.

Argentine growers have meanwhile brought in 24.6% of their 2020/21 corn crop. The total corn harvest this year is expected at 46 million tonnes.

“Corn harvesting has yet to gain momentum because farmers are prioritizing the collection of soy,” the exchange said.