Rains expected in the coming week in Argentina could delay soya harvesting in some areas and threaten to reduce yields, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said in a report on Thursday. A week after raising its 2016/17 soya crop estimate to 57.5 million tonnes from 56.5 million, the exchange warned that land already left wet by ample rains earlier this year could get flooded if forecasts of showers in the southern and eastern part of the country's farm belt prove true.
"There are still about 4.6 million hectares of soya to be harvested nationwide, 30 percent of which is in the northern part of the country and 35 percent in areas affected by excessive moisture," the exchange's weekly crop report said. Argentina, the world's top exporter of soyameal livestock feed, has harvested nearly 75 percent of this season's soya crop. Harvesting progressed by 8.2 percentage points during the week.
The exchange said it expected Argentine farmers to plant 5.5 million hectares (13.6 million acres) with wheat this season, affirming the preliminary forecast it made last month when it estimated the country's 2017/18 wheat harvest at 17.5 million tonnes, up from 16.3 million tonnes in 2016/17.